Cinderella Bonasera
by LadyStellaSkye
Summary: In the fairy tale of Cinderella Bonasera, life isn't a walk in the rose garden, but sometimes meeting the right person can make things all better...or make it a huge mess...or sometimes both! Smacked fluffyness. AU
1. Meet the Family

Cinderella Bonasera

Meet the Family

Once upon a time...

In a land far, far away...

Life didn't suck for Stella Bonasera.

But that's once upon a time.

Stella was a little Greek girl who lived a moderately happy life at Basil's manor. It was like an orphanage for all the children who were taken from their homes. Stella never knew her parents, though she was a fairly happy girl with lots of friends and a heart of gold. The other children looked up to Stella; she was a sweet girl with a tough as nails mentality and a protective strength.

But again, that was once upon a time. This is reality.

"Bonasera!" A shrill voice shouted angrily.

"Yes ma'am!" The woman snapped to.

"Get Peyton and Quinn!" The voice snapped.

"Yes, mother!" Stella responded quickly, dashing off to find her stepsisters. Peyton and Quinn were two _VERY _unpleasant ladies in every aspect. Peyton was a frigid woman with dark chestnut hair, cold greyish eyes and freckles over pale skin. She had a bit of a British accent which domineered her snippy voice. Quinn was a cynical looking woman with small dark eyes, short stringy orange hair and an almost permanent frown. Stella, on the other hand, had uncomparable beauty. Olive complection, large twinkling green eyes and a mop of caramel colored curls that framed her face like gold lacing silver. She was nice too.

"Peyton? Quinn?" Stella knocked on their doors.

"What?!" Two irritated voices bit back.

"Mother would like to speak to you." Stella said submissively, holding her scrub bucket in her hands weakly.

"Oh mother!!" Both girls called, rushing out of their rooms and knocking poor Stella over in the process.

"Oh boy..." Stella said to herself, steadying herself. "I'm okay..."

"Mother!!" The two women giggled.

"It's here!" Their mother said with an equally annoying voice.

"The invitation is here!" Peyton and Quinn squealed.

Stella simply watched with a frown. Her life had gone down the tubes since she was adopted. "Invitation?"

"What was that?!" Her mother asked sharply as always.

"I asked what invitation." Stella repeated boldly.

"Since you'll be driving us there I suppose you should know. The invitation to the castle to meet with Prince Mac!" Stella's mother barked at her angrily. "Now finish your chores so we can go!"

"Yes, mother." Stella sighed, slinking off with her shoulder slumped. She dragged herself to finish scrubbing the marble rungs of the stairs. She was incredibly thorough and prided herself on attention to detail, just like Father Sid at St. Basil's. He was a scientist working on cutting edge inventions of the age, and she loved him dearly. He always let her help in his alchemical lab of wonder. He'd tell her, her eyes twinkled like stars when she was in wonder. She always thought she could be a scientist. A darn good one, too!

"Hurry up, you frizzy haired freak!! We want to see Prince Mac!" Quinn shouted louder than needed, considering she was almost literally butting heads with her stepsister.

"First, my hair is curly, not frizzy, and second, I'm when I'm done, so get ready, or something!!" Stella bit back, furrowing her brows.

"Why you insolent-"

"Alright, I'm done!" Stella burst. "Get in the carriage, I'll get Aiden then I'll be right out."

"You'll need Jordan too!" Said Peyton.

"Fine, but I don't know why we have that useless mare, all she does is eat her weight in hay and trot along while Aiden does all the real work." Stella murmured to herself, going to the stable. She dumped the bucket at the door and went to Aiden first.

Aiden was a gorgeous, strong, brown Stallion with gentle eyes. Her mane was kept nice and soft by Stella and she was in tiptop shape.

"Hey Aiden, we have to take the witches to the palace." Stella said unceremoniously, patting Aiden's snout. Aiden whinnied and nodded her head. "Come on, girl." Stella tugged the reins slightly and guided her outside.

"Bonasera, hurry up and get that horse hooked up! And where is Jordan?" Their mother barked.

"Just one moment, mother." Stella gritted. She went back to the dirty blond horse with a snout slightly too narrow and eyes like coal. "Hey Jordan, we're going to the palace, and please don't leave Aiden to all the pulling work." Though Jordan seemed to resent this.

"Finally! Let's go!" Peyton snarled.

"You heard her." Stella sighed, perching herself on the carriage's front and cracking the reins gently. Aiden and Jordan started along at a good pace; fast enough to make good time but slow enough so the passengers wouldn't complain.

"Oh, Prince Mac will just love you girls, I know he will!" Their mother gushed girlishly.

"He's so handsome!" Peyton bubbled, her freckled cheeks flushing pale pink and her dim eyes brightening ever so slightly.

"I know!" Quinn smiled.

Stella's eyes drifted back to her temporary family with a dark expression before returning to the dusty road; the same dusty road she'd first traveled when she came to Hattanshire. Some people said it was going to be a big city, but not many believed it. Stella's eyes became shadowed once again as the chatter invaded her brain. She never had a chance at happiness. Never had a chance.

Life sucked for Stella Bonasera.


	2. A Stella by Any Other Name

Cinderella Bonasera

A Stella by Any Other Name

"There it is!" Peyton squealed. "Hurry!"

"Speed up the horses, Bonasera!" Her mother demanded.

"Yes, mother." Stella replied curtly, cracking the reins again.

"Park it here and stay with the horses, we'll be back." Quinn ordered, getting out on her side.

"How long do you plan to be?" Stella asked with a raised brow.

"Stay here! You are not to be seen!" Her mother yelled in her face.

"Yes, mother." Stella answered solemnly, looking up at the woman with distaste.

"Good." She muttered, walking away.

"It's just us then, Aiden. Oh, you too Jordan." Stella smirked.

"Prince Mac, the ladies of the far west-district are here." One spectacled man said, his accent audible. The man walking ahead of him had short, lustrous, brown hair and mysterious blue eyes. He had a muscular build and strong image all over. He wore the black pants and jacket of the classic Prince attire without any garnishments or records of his military service.

"Great, just what I need." Mac mumbled. "Why can't you tell them I died, or something?"

"Miss Monroe would beat my with a tea pot." The man answered flatly. "I'm not kidding, she threw it at me yesterday for calling her-"

"Montana?" Mac guessed. His friend nodded. "Danny, her name is Lindsay, not Montana."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Danny waved. "I can't help it, she's too cute to resist."

Mac chuckled, wishing his two friends would just get married. "Right, well if you won't tell them I died then can you tell them I left for a business trip?"

"I could, sir, but that'd be a big fat lie." Danny frowned.

"Fine." Mac sighed, dropping his broad shoulders. "I'll meet the birds, but they'll be just like all the rest."

"Well, you'll meet your diamond in the rough someday, sir." Danny assured his friend. He looked out the window to see a tall woman grooming a brown stallion outside. She had curly hair and looked quite pretty even from a distance. He knew Mac Taylor, and he had a strange affinity for curly hair. "Maybe sooner than you think."

"I doubt it."

"So you're Prince Mac Taylor!" Peyton gushed, curtsying. "Wow, it's an honor to meet you!"

"Miss Peyton." He said in a murmuring voice, kissing her hand reluctantly. "My pleasure."

"Prince." Quinn curtsied.

"Miss Quinn." He repeated the ritual. "My pleasure."

"Tell us, what is it like to be the picture of perfection?" Peyton asked coyly, sitting beside her sister.

"Ladies, there is no such thing as true perfection." Mac sighed.

"But you're the prince, you're at least as close as they come." Quinn giggled smugly.

"Will you ladies please excuse me, I need some air." Mac excused himself, getting up and exiting calmly as usual. Once outside he took a deep breath and headed outdoors. He pushed the front doors open easily with his strength and stepped onto the stone steps with his black shoes.

"How's that, Aiden?" A female voice asked sweetly.

"Hm?" Mac looked up to see a beautiful woman nuzzling a horse affectionately. She had tan skin, a pretty face and butterscotch curls.

"That feel good?" She got a whinny in response.

"Excuse me!" Mac called, holding up his hand and walking toward the cloaked woman.

"Oh!" She turned, startled. Her green eyes were wide as she spun around in shock. "I beg your pardon, I shouldn't be here."

"No, no." Mac smiled as her flustered appearance made him feel strangely invincible. Her embarrassed blush, her nervous voice that remained strong but sweet. "Are these your horses?"

"Yes sir, that one is Jordan and this is Aiden, my pride and joy." Stella smiled proudly, patting Aiden, who nodded her head at the man.

"My pleasure, Miss Aiden." He bowed to the horse. Stella giggled at his charm as Aiden bowed her had as well. "What's your name?"

"Me? Sir?" Stella asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I've never seen you around here before." Mac frowned at her nervousness.

"My name is Stella Bonasera, sir." She curtsied and bowed her head shallowly.

"Don't." Mac smiled. "Stella." He said dreamily.

"Yes, sir, though no one's called me that in years." She sighed.

"Why not? It's a beautiful name." He said with raised eyebrows, surprised as to why a beautiful woman like her was so timid.

"I was told beautiful names were for beautiful people." She said sadly, casting her eyes downward.

"And who said you aren't beautiful?" He smirked, kissing her hand tenderly. He looked back up at her to see her eyes as wide as possible and a slight tinge of red in her cheeks. "Stella."

"I was told to wait here with my family's carriage." She said for lack of a better sentence.

"Well you can join me in the garden, can't you?" He asked.

"I suppose." She smiled, entranced by the man. There was something about him that was calming in itself. His smooth face, his even tone, even his hard blue eyes seemed softer to her.

"But a rose by any other name would be just as sweet."

"I don't read books anymore, I get hit upside the head with them."

"It's beautiful!" Stella gasped, admiring the greenery around her. The foliage was lush and the flowers were in full bloom. Roses of all natural colors were blooming fully. White lilies lined the flowerbeds while yellows and pinks were planted around a large tree.

"Isn't it?" Mac asked, smiling. "It was planted when the castle was first built, now, we pride ourselves in taking care of it."

"It's breath taking." She kneeled to touch the delicate but strong lily. She was wearing a simple green dress that hung around her ankles and black cloak that grazed the grass below her. "I always found that a lily's petals are like human skin. They're soft, but they're strong."

"You're a strong person, aren't you?" Mac smirked at the hurricane intense lady. At first glance she was just another pretty woman, but looking closer one could see the dangerous clarity of her jade orbs.

"Strong, maybe...stubborn, definitely." She smiled.

"I'd buy that." He kneeled with her and broke a white rose by its stem, avoiding the thorns and handed it to her. "A flower for m'lady?"

"Why thank you, kind sir." She giggled, accepting the flower like it were a delicate child. "You always such a gentleman?"

"When I want to be." He laughed.

"I'd buy that." Stella went to pick another rose but stopped dead when she saw a tiny spider crawling up on a leaf. The very corner of her mouth twitched as every joint in her body locked. Her muscles tightened and she struggled not to shake or scream. She wanted to grab onto Mac's arm, hide behind him-jump on his back-anything!

"You okay?" Mac asked Stella worriedly, touching her arm lightly.

"I'm fine." She squeaked, cursing the tiny eight-legged creature. She didn't even have full blown arachnophobia, they were just gross!

"Are you sure? You're getting really pale." Mac put the back of his hand against Stella's forehead.

"I-I'm-I'm fine-I'm fine, really." Stella stuttered, her heart beginning to beat faster feeling Mac's hand on her soft skin.

"Alright..." Mac followed her gaze down to the small black spider that was crawling towards her hand. "Are you afraid of spiders?"

"Um..." Was all she managed before she began sputtering as the spider began to crawl up her index finger. "I...yessss! I hate them!"

"It's okay, I'm not judging." Mac held his hands up while he smiled crookedly. He couldn't help but think how adorably cute she was as she shook her hand wildly to get it off.

"I hate spiders, they're just so creepy!" She murmured.

"Creepy...oh dammit!" Mac cursed.

"What?" Stella asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry, but I have to be somewhere." Mac apologized, pulling her with him as he stood. "Please forgive me."

"What's your name?" She asked as he started towards the doors.

"Mac. Come back soon, Stella." He smiled gently. "I bet we'll be great friends."

"I will!" She called after him, fingering her rose. "I think we could be great friends too."

"Goodbye, Stella." He rushed, kissing her cheek.

"See ya."

"Where were you?!" Danny asked frantically. "I've got those two crazies in there ready to kill each other and the next person to walk through those doors!"

"Then it may as well be me, I guess." Mac smirked crookedly.

"Good luck. Take the silver tray as protection!"

"He'll like me better!" Peyton growled, pulling her sister's hair.

"He's closer to my age you cow!" Quinn shouted back, pulling Peyton's longer, darker hair and holding her back by her face.

"Ladies, please." Mac frowned.

"Oh, sir Mac." They both said breathlessly, having the minimal grace to look embarrassed as they scrambled back in their seats.

"You ladies should head home before the sun goes down." Mac said, using any excuse he could think of. He sat down, taking in a breath and clutching his knees.

"Right, thank you for your time, Prince." They both curtsied.

"Oh...it was my, uh...pleasure."

The incessant chattering of her family bombarded her ears all the way home. Her head was beginning to thump with pain from their positively infuriating talk. She looked down for a second to make sure her rose was still safely in place in her cloak. Yup, safe and sound.

"Let's go home Aiden."


	3. The God Father Who Happens to be a Fairy

The God Father Who Happens to be a Fairy

"There you go Aiden." Stella said quietly, patting the horse's mane as she munched a sugar cube. She nodded her thanks and went into the stable without protest, simply washing down her sugar with water.

"Bonasera! Come here!" Quinn shouted from the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

"What the hell is this?!" Quinn hissed at Stella, holding the stem of a familiar white rose.

"How'd you get that?!" Stella demanded with equal anger in her voice. "You snatched it right out of my cloak pocket, didn't you?!"

"Doesn't matter anyway, you know I'm allergic." Quinn muttered darkly, throwing the beautiful flower in the fire like trash.

"Hey!" Stella got one hand in the air as she was forced to watch her gift burst into flames and melt in the ashes.

"Now clean it up." The redhead ordered calmly, strutting away.

"Clean it up, my ass-no way I'm cleaning this!" Stella bit, pointing to the cinders scattered over the bricks around the fire place.

"You'll do as I say!" Quinn stated coldly.

"Bitch."

Smack!

Stella blinked slowly as she registered the burning in her cheek. She slowly turned her head to face Quinn and gaped at her. "The hell?!"

"You do not speak to me that way." Quinn bit back, staring at the bloody mark. "Learn your place, Bonasera. Mother may have adopted you to get this house for free but you never were or will be a part of this family. You're just the help...the _free_ help."

"I'm not your maid, Quinn, and don't worry, I'll be out of your dry, stringy hair soon enough." Stella said without looking up, busy smudging the blood between her fingers. "Ew."

"Insolent, ungrateful ne'er do well." Quinn glared as she shut and locked the door behind her.

"Bravo! You know what a ne'er do well is!" Stella shouted after the older woman, knowing she couldn't be heard anyway.

The night was cold, though it was actually fairly mild out. Dark shadows sat in the corners and crannies of the house, giving the whole place an uninviting air. A fire was barely alive in the fireplace, in front of which sat Stella, knees folded to her chest. The red of the fire reflected in her jade eyes created a translucid kind of effect. She blinked slowly, the necessity for sleep growing on her. She yawned and shook her head.

"Someone's a sleepy li'l ne'er do well." A man's deep voice called in a teasing tone.

"Hm?" Stella looked all around her then straight ahead in confusion.

"Up here princess."

"Ah!" Stella jumped a mile off the ground and shot behind the kitchen table, observing the sarcastic intruder from a distance.

"Hey, easy now. There's no need to arm yourself with a frying pan." The man chuckled from his place atop her chandelier.

"How did you get..." Stella trailed off and gave him the evil eyes as she stood slowly. The young man had short, black hair and the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen...maybe. A little part of her liked Mac's paler blue eyes, but that's beside the point. He was wearing a casual suit that most men his age would wear, with a tie.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm here to help you" He said heartily, jumping down from the brass chandelier and going over to her. He got within reach of her-

Bam!!

"That was that for?!!" He asked outrageously, holding his throbbing temple where her frying pan had made contact.

"It's my rule, no men in my place...that includes incredibly realistic figments of my imagination." Stella huffed, still holding the frying pan like a baseball bat just in case.

"I'm NOT a figment of your imagination-this is a real dent in my head!" He huffed back.

"Who are you?!" She shouted.

"Flack. Don Flack." Don nodded, flashing a smile. "I'm your fairy god father."

"You're...a fairy?" Stella asked, pointing at the athletically build, normal sized man. She blinked.

"I'm your god father who happens to be a fairy, yes." Flack shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with the statement.

"Right, as believable as this is I've clearly gone insane so-"

"You're not insane, at least not yet." Flack smiled, though Stella didn't, urging him to continue. "I'll be lookin' out for you from now on. Just think of like a big brother."

"I'm probably older than you, and I don't need anyone looking out for me, thank you." She grumbled.

"I'm two thousand, thirty one years." Flack chuckled.

"Okay, so you have a millennia or two on me." She dismissed with a wave.

"I know you're stubborn, as a mule, to be specific, but I'm your guardian now." He said softly. "Trust me."

"That's not an easy thing for me to do, but alright, just don't come out of nowhere like that again." She sighed, hanging up her weapon.

"Don't worry, first thing I'm gonna do is teach those ugly wenches not to mess with my little god sister." Flack said, cracking his knuckles and making Stella laugh softly. As much as she hated to be coddled, she kind of liked having an overprotective family-ish-type-member-person-friend. "Another thing is this Mac character."

"Wait, aren't you my fairy god _father_?" Asked Stella.

"Alright, how about god brother?" Smiled Flack.

"Sounds good to me." She smiled back.

"Now back to Mac Taylor." Flack said frowning slightly.

"Mac Taylor is the prince of Hattanshire! I met Mac...something or other." She shrugged.

"No, the Mac that gave you the rose was the prince." He corrected, smiling crookedly. "He likes you...and you like him."

"What?! No, I think we'll be great friends, that's all." She protested, though the pink in her cheeks betrayed her.

"Uh huh, just remember that as your fairy god brother I have the right to be over protective." He declared.

"Whatever, just keep my step family out of my curls." She shook her head, showing him the halo of curls in question and making him chortle slightly. "I hate those women."

"Oh, I know, honey, and I'll make 'em pay."

"Bonasera, this spoon is filthy!" Her mother shouted.

"That's because Peyton just used it!" Stella rebutted.

"Well, clean it!" She ordered.

"Here." Peyton said sharply, tilting her head so that even though she was shorter, she seemed to be looking down on Stella and practically throwing the silver spoon at her. "Mother wants to be able to see herself in it."

"I bet she does." Stella mumbled to herself, looking at the spoon with disgust. Her eyes drifted to the reflection of Flack waving to her through the open window. She smiled and turned her head just enough to see him in her periphery. He held up a finger and pointed at Peyton's back as she walked away.

The spoon shook in her hand for a minute before flying at Peyton and going down the back of her blue dress.

"Hah!" She yiped, jumping as the cold, wet spoon made its way down her back. "What the-?!"

"What's wrong, Peyton?" Stella asked while trying not to laugh, and failing.

"Cold! Wet!" She gasped as it traveled back up her back. "This doesn't make sense!"

"Oh, I know, honey, I know." Stella grinned as the dark haired woman continued to jump like a jackrabbit. "Um...good luck with that."

"Dammit!" Peyton shuddered as she wriggled around like the snake she was.

"Ooh...proper ladies shouldn't swear...so you should be alright." Stella muttered so only she and Flack could hear it. He high-fived her and followed her out.

"Next is Quinn." He said evilly, rubbing his hands together and laughing deeply.

"What are you gonna do to her?" Stella asked trying not to sound too excited. She usually didn't suffer fools gladly but...they deserved it!

"I'm thinking...stampede." Said Flack.

"Of what?"

"Goats."

"What?" Stella asked as Quinn stepped out into the garden.

"I said, let there be goats!" Flack said to the sky, holding his hand up dramatically. Oddly enough, someone must've been listening because Quinn was immediately trampled by a flood of at least two hundred goats running in from nowhere. They varied in color but were all the same size and running as fast as their little legs would carry them; which was surprisingly fast. They were gone as soon as they came and seemingly evaporated into thin air.

"What in the-?!" Quinn simply dropped her aching head back onto the ground. Must hurt, being run over by goats, you know?

"That's gotta hurt!" Stella laughed, shaking her head.

"I'm sure it does, which in this case is a good thing. Now, what should we do to that witch who calls herself their mother?" Asked Don.

"Bonasera!"

"Speak of the Devil." Stella muttered darkly.

"Bonasera!!"

"What?!" Stella screamed back, scaring Flack off the ground and back an inch or two. He never guessed such a harsh sound could come out of such a sweet looking package. Then again...

"Start cooking the pork for dinner! And I swear to God if you mess up you won't eat for the next month!"

"Let me at 'er! Let me at 'er!!" Flack growled, Stella holding him back by his tie as he continued to try and run at her stepmother, digging himself into a trench in the process.

"I don't hear pans being taken out!"

"That's it." Flack took out a pen and tiny pad of paper that looked a lot like the memo books police officers used.

"I thought-"

"I'm on the force. I get this instead of a magic wand." He shrugged, scribbling something down madly and putting it away.

"What'd you do?" Asked Stella.

"You'll se." Flack smirked.

"Should I be afraid?"

"Ah!!"

Stella and Don watched as porkchops began to pile high inside the house, popping out of nowhere. The muffled screams of the women inside could barely be heard by the guilty parties but they heard 'em...and they laughed...and laughed...and laughed! I would. It's funny!

"Oh, that's just too good." Managed through laughs and tears, leaning on her magical brother for support.

"That's how I roll...what up?"

"What was that?" Stella asked strangely. "If you're trying to start something it doesn't make sense. No one will ever say that."

"Anyway, I've got somewhere to be." Flack said, putting one hand on her shoulder and using the other to snap the porkchops away. "I'll see you tomorrow or later tonight."

"Okay." She smiled brightly.

"Okay, take care Stell." Flack kissed her cheek and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Bye Don, I can handle the witches here."

"Hey Flack." Adam Ross called at the end of the bar.

"Hey Adam." Flack waved.

"How's the new assignment? She sure is gorgeous." Adam smiled to himself.

"Hell, she's a beautiful woman, but I think we'll just be good friends, like brother and sister." Flack smiled.

"That's just because you like that guardian angel...Angell." Adam teased. "Isn't she guarding Mac Taylor?"

"Her name is Jess." Flack corrected calmly.

"Sorry...you think you can keep this new assignment?" Asked Adam.

"I hope so. I'm gettin' pretty attached to the kid...she's spunky." Flack clinked his glass with the younger man's.

"How goes the fairy god parenting Lindsay Monroe?" Asked Don.

"That Danny Messer guy keeps calling her Montana, 'cause he likes her, and it drives her nuts. She threw a tea pot at him for it the other day. She's got a really good arm. Anyway, I planned a little surprise for him tomorrow."

"I wish him luck."


	4. High Class, Middle Class and No Class

High Class, Middle Class and No Class

"Ah!" A shout could be heard from the Prince's personal attache and assistant's room. "What the-?!"

"Danny? What's wrong?" Mac called through the door.

"Imagine my surprise when I find that my pillow's been replaced with a duck." Danny breathed, whipping the door open to greet his friend with a crooked smile...while in his boxer shorts.

"Hm...we don't even have ducks here." Mac frowned. "In any case, I want you to make Lindsay some breakfast. It's her day off and I want her to rest well...but put your pants on, first." Mac pointed.

"Yes, sir." Danny nodded, grabbing his glasses-some pants-and heading to the kitchen. "Would it be cruel to make bacon?"

"She grew up on a farm, Danny!" Mac frowned. "She even told us that her best friend was a pig named Mordecai until she was five."

"Eggs and biscuits it is."

"Hey there, dumdum." A sweet voice called playfully.

"Jessica, I told you to stop calling me that." Mac sighed.

"I'll stop when you stop calling me Jessica! It's either Jess, or Angell!" The woman puffed, motioning with her hands to pick one or the other. She had a fittingly angelic face framed by rich, glossy chocolate tresses which flowed to the small of her back and around her feathered wings. As a guardian angel, she wore a uniform: a white tunic with black jeans. The guardian angels of the magical world were like the police; as protectors of people, they weren't like normal angels, who were actually the dead people in line to be reincarnated. Even their halos were different. While the norms had halos floating above their white clad bodies, guardian angel's halos were more so like gold bands that wrapped around the head.

"Fine, I'll call you Angell, but only if you stop calling me dumdum." Said Mac.

"Can I call you Mac-y?"

"No."

"Mac-Man?"

"No."

"Big-Mac?"

"No!"

"Mac-Attack?"

"No, no, and no, again!" He huffed.

"You're no fun." She placed her hands on her hips, still floating beside him though her wings didn't move.

"I thought you had a meeting with some police officer from the fairy...place." Mac blinked, walking and talking.

"Not for another hour, and you and I have to have a talk, anyway." Se said pointedly, stopping in front of him and spreading her wings so he couldn't get by. "About marriage."

"Can't we do this later?" He asked like a teenager, making to walk away, but Angell simply took out a feather and threw it at him like a ninja star...or like a piece of chalk a teacher throws at the annoying kids. It flew by his ear and came back to her like a boomerang. He turned unhappily and frowned. "Fine."

"Your father asked me to look after you; and as the prince, that includes marrying so you can become king...and hopefully producing and heir." She said bluntly, scratching the back of her head.

"I'm in no hurry to marry or even see any of those annoying, creepy, unattractive, unintelligent, conniving-"

"Conniving?"

"Yes, conniving."

"Well, are there any women you do like?" She sighed.

"No, not..." Mac trailed off as his mind wandered to the friend he's made. Of coarse that friend happened to be a gorgeous Greek woman with curly hair that he wanted to take in his fingers and spin for-

"Mac?" Angell snapped her fingers a few times.

"Yes?" He blinked, snapping out of it.

"Oh...it's that woman Stella you met the other day, isn't it?" She grinned like a Cheshire cat on cocaine. "Ah? Ah? Ah?"

"No! Stella and I are friends!" Mac bit defensively.

"Me thinks you doth protest too much." She said sagely.

"Stella is a kind, sweet, caring, beautiful, attractive, intelligent, –"

"Well, you're just proving my point now, aren't you?" She smirked, letting her wings fold by her sides again. "She is pretty."

"She's beautiful..." Mac sighed helplessly.

Taking it as a sign of defeat, Angell smiled gently. "You're lovesick, aren't you? Claire?"

"Claire had curly hair." Mac muttered absently, walking to the end of the hall and opening the doors to a room seldom used: her room.

Lady Claire Conrad was Mac's late-fiancee, but sadly, she was killed when the far-west two towers of their castle were attacked by a neighboring kingdom. They never found her body, giving him false hope until, after two long years, even he had to give up. They'd rebuilt the towers which were her room and the heir to be's, and Mac had left them as they were to visit on his down days.

"What is it about you and curly hair?" Angell smiled, shaking her wavy haired head and floating after him, closing the doors respectfully.

"I don't know, I just...love it." Mac stared up at the painting of his Claire dreamily, as he often did after her death.

"Mac, I'm not just your assigned guardian, I'm your friend, and I care about you." Angell said firmly, turning his head toward hers. "And I want to see you happy, so I want you to meet with Miss Stella again."

"She lives in the western district and has a beautiful brown stallion named Aiden. She's Greek, with caramel curls and eyes like big, sparkly peridot stars. She's fairly tall but still shorter than me and tan, with a dancer's form." Mac rushed, trying to recall every memory of her.

"I'll find her, Mac." Angell laughed, placing her hand on his arm and nodding to him for reassurance. "Aren't too many Greeks 'round."

"And she doesn't like spiders!"

"Hey Adam, hey Flack." Angell greeted the two men fondly, winking at the latter mentioned.

"Hey Jess, how's it going?" Adam smiled, putting up his hand.

"Good Adam, thanks!" She smiled back warmly. "By the way, love how you made Danny's pillow into a duck!"

"Ah thanks, that's we god parents do." He shrugged.

"You look angelic as always." Flack smirked.

"Did you just get your game out on me?" Angell asked with a smile and a faint blush on her cheeks that she hid well.

"What?"

"I think it's pretty good." She took a seat in between Flack and Adam, spinning around on the stool. "Yo! One light brew over here!"

"You got it!"

"Whoa there, Angell, you're gonna make yourself sick, spinnin' like that." Flack said as he watched her spin with no end in sight.

"Nah, I'm good." She chirped happily. She stopped herself abruptly and slammed her hands on the counter as her beer slid down. "Thanks!"

"So, how are things...?" Adam looked away from his two friends.

"Oh, you mean how's Kendall? She's good!" Angell smirked, nudging her shy friend affectionately. "She asked me how you were."

"Really?" He asked with stars in his eyes.

"Yuppers." Angell nodded as she held her glass up. The three of them clinked their mugs together and drank one sip each. As Angell set hers down slower than the others she directed her serious gaze at the mahogany counter. "Mac's met someone."

"Really?" Adam gaped like a fish.

"Let me guess, gorgeous Greek woman named Stella with curly hair and green eyes?" Flack murmured, taking another swig.

"Yeah...how'd you know?" Asked Jess.

"I'm her god-parent...or as I prefer, brother." Flack answered, putting his suds down. "I got assigned just a few days ago."

"I never thought I'd see Mac get over Claire, and I want him to be happy..." Angell trailed off, not knowing what to say. I want hin to be happy...but...he's not ready? He shouldn't be in love this soon? He doesn't shower often enough? Well, that one wasn't true.

"I think I know what you mean. I haven't met this Mac character, but I'm sure he's a nice guy. Still, I like Stella, she's a real sweetheart, and I don't want anything hurting her. She's suffered enough."

"I feel the same way about Mac. He's like a little brother to me and I can't bear to see him in pain like he was after Claire died. I'm glad he's found a woman he could really love, could be in love with, but I also want him to be careful."

"Well we both have the whole older-sibling-over-protective thing goin' on, huh?" Flack chuckled.

"It would seem so, but girls don't really have that threatening thing when it comes to siblings, just friendly understanding. I'm sure Stella's a sweetie, and I can't wait to meet her." Jess smiled.

"She is a sweetheart, just don't say it to her directly."

"Montana?" Danny called through the white wooden doors that marked the room of the Prince's personal attache and assistant's room, knocking softly. He got no answer. "Lindsay?"

"Yeah?" She finally called, sounding tired.

"Can I come in, honey?" He asked sweetly.

"Fine...just don't call me honey!" She yipped.

"Deal, cowgirl." Danny chuckled, opening the right door and entering with the silver platter. The huge room was an ivory wash with yellow sun splashing in through the draped windows. In the center-far from Danny and the doors-was a beautiful canopied bed with gold, twisting pillars and blush pink adornments. A head of honey-blond hair was tilted towards a book that rested in her hands. She looked up. "Hi."

"Hi." She said somewhat dazedly as a blush came to her cheeks, seeing the spectacled man walk in with a sliver tray, steam and a delicious aroma floating off of it. She could smell biscuits, fresh strawberry jam, freshly churned butter, eggs, and even some orange juice. Though, what really called her attention was the red rose resting in a crystal vase beside the biscuits and butter.

"I brought you some breakfast, 'case you were hungry." He started nervously, setting the tray on her bedside table and trying not to stare at her morning fresh face as she sat before him still in her nightgown. "Mac wanted you to have a nice day off."

"Oh." She nodded, disappointment flying over her face briefly. Danny seemed to pick up on it and sat down, giving her a smile.

"The rose was my personal touch." He smiled, feeling heat creeping into his cheeks. "I thought...you know... it's pretty...you're..."

"Thanks, Danny." Lindsay smiled back, picking up the tiny vase and inhaling its fragrance gladly. "This is, uh, this is nice."

"I was going to make bacon, but-ow! No pinching!"


	5. Angel, Meet Angell

Angel, Meet Angell

"Bonasera!"

Whap!

"Ow!" Stella held the back of her head where the book had made contact. "What, what-WHAT?!"

"Get out in the garden and pick some vegetables for tonight's dinner!" The woman shouted.

"You don't like vegetables! You said they remind you of your seventh husband!" Stella rebutted, making sure she wasn't bleeding.

"Go!"

"Fine..." Stella huffed, walking out into the lush vegetable garden. As the only one who ever did anything productive in the house of horrors, she knew everything about everything. Their vegetables were in perfect shape, except for the carrots, since no one liked them. The rest of them just hated orange and they reminded Stella of Peyton too much. Everything else was in the most lovely state for eating. "Let's see..."

"I like sweet potatoes, myself." A feminine voice offered.

"Pardon m-aaaaaaahaaa!" Stella screamed, making the other woman scream in turn. "Aaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaah!"

"Aaaah!"

"Aaah!"

"Hi." Angell waved, skipping through the screaming.

"Hellooooooo." Stella squinted, looking up at the dark haired woman standing above her kneeling form. She had long waves of dark chocolate locks that framed her sunny face. The gold tiara that linked at her hairline accented her even richer chocolate eyes. Her white halter and black jeans made her look very professional as she stood above her with a smile and her hands on her hips.

"Hi! I'm Jess Angell!" She beamed.

"Hi, I'm Stella Bonasera. Angel?" Stella blinked, taking the hand of help and dusted the black skirt of her dress.

"Angell. Hi Stella, it's nice to meet you. I'm a friend of your fairy god-brother, Don Flack." She said while taking in the Stella Bonasera. The woman was as she'd heard; pretty, Greek, tall, tan, clear eyes, curly hair and she did seem like a sweet person.

"Oh! I'm happy to meet you too!" Stella smiled back at the younger looking woman, though she was sure she was around Flack's age, somewhere in the thousands. "Why must you people surprise me?"

"It's a magical police officer thing." Angell shrugged. "So how's it having Flack as a big brother?"

"It's definitely interesting, especially considering he ran over my stepsister with goats." Stella mused, putting emphasis on _goats_.

"Yeah, he likes goats...don't know why." Angell shrugged, quirking an eyebrow. "In any case, I'd like to talk to you about Mac."

"Mac who?" Stella blinked, not knowing what to make of it. "Mac Taylor?"

"Yuppers!" Jess chirped. "I'm his guardian angel, good friend, and magical big sister!"

"I see, so as a guardian angel, it's kind of like how Flack's my guardian? Just that he's a fairy." Stella asked, furrowing her brows. So many magical happenings, so little time to understand it all.

"Pretty much, yeah. Mac was right, you are smart!" Angell smiled. "In any case, I'd like you and Mac to see each other again."

"Well I did promise I'd see him again, but with my step family, I don't know how on earth I'd manage that." Stella admitted, scratching the back her head. "Don't get me wrong, I want to see him again."

"He wants to see you again too." The angel said in a singsong way.

"Really?"

"Really-really! I'll let him tell you about himself, but he's a sweet guy and I think you two would be so cute!" She smirked, nodding her head sagely with her eyes closed and her hands clapped. "I think he really likes you, and I can see why, you're pretty, nice, sweet..."

"Um, thanks, but why would Mac, the Prince of Hattanshire want to see me?" The Greek woman pointed to herself as if it were absurd.

"Well, why wouldn't he?" Angell offered as a positive comeback.

"Well, I mean, we're friends, but..." Stella trailed off as her mind wandered elsewhere. Mac was a handsome man, and attractive too. He must've weighed a good hundred pounds more than her, and that's just what she could eyeball. His eyes were like calm seas that only summoned up storms if needed. He'd served as a marine in the war on Packenshire briefly before his father died.

"But nothing! You're coming with me to the palace!"

"One string bean...two string beans..." Danny sat at a wooden table in an other wise empty room aside from him, Lindsay, the table and the string beans. "I said I was sorry."

"I know, but this is fun. Besides, every time anyone even says the _B_ word, I think it does Morty-bless his muddy li'l soul-injustice." Lindsay said with a triumphant smile on her face. "Now count!"

"Three...come on, Lindsay, what's it gonna take?" The man asked with his accent and pearly smile. "Come on, Linds...ah?"

"Have you heard the news about Mac?" She asked, changing the subject and sitting across from him, draping her pink skirt just the right way so it was splayed around her knees where she crossed her legs.

"It would seem not, but I'm sure you're about to fill me in." Danny said, leaning forward on his forearms.

"He met some woman named Stella, and he kissed her cheek." Lindsay said in a hushed, sly tone. "I think it'll pan out, you?"

"I don't know. For as long as I've known Mac, I've never seen him kiss anyone. I never met Claire, of coarse...or his mother, but that is interesting." He smirked, pointing his finger for emphasis.

"I know. I visited the stone pillar..." Lindsay started again. The stone pillar was actually a tiny pile of rocks stacked on top of each other where Mac's father had created a kind of shrine for Mac's guardian angel; Jessica, Mac's would-be older sister who died in birth. "Miss Angel doesn't seem to think so..."

"I saw Mac after he met this Stella, and I think he thinks she's the real angel." Danny said confidently. "If his guardian's lookin' out for him, I think it's 'bout to get interesting 'round 'ere. Angel, meet Angel."

"Well it doesn't matter what you think, because you have beans to count, mister." Lindsay shook the almost empty bowl in front of him.

"Not the beans! Can't I just plant 'em and hope we get a gold egg?"

"Wow, this is nice..." Stella marveled at the beautiful interior. The white marble walls had velvet drapes by the windows that brought out the green you could see in the gardens outside. The ceiling was a soft gold color while the floors were also white marble with a red carpet leading down the (exceedingly long) hallway. "I've never been in here."

"It is nice, and it's really fun to hang out on the giant chandelier and scare people when they look up." She pointed, smiling brightly. Stella simply blinked. "It's another magical police officer thing."

"Ah." Stella nodded as they came to two-also exceedingly large-doors with gold trimming.

"Mac spends most of his time in there, working. Technically he does everything around here, and his father has passed, but he can't be king without a queen, and he has eyes for only one woman..." Angell looked slyly at Stella, who obviously wasn't getting the clue as she looked at the artwork on the door. "You!"

"Me what?" Stella turned. "Sorry...this picture was done by a Greek artist. I saw a painting of it once, but it looks so much better crafted in gold. The techniques, the materials, the machines, it must have cost a fortune to make this."

"Hm...you're one of them smart types." Angell speculated with flattened eyes. "You and Mac will be just perfect together."

"Whatever you say." Stella mumbled, turning her head away from the couple-thousand-year-old woman, though it was really to hide the blush that was coming to her cheeks. She wasn't a romantically gifted person, considering her only boyfriend turned out to be a murderous con-man-art-dealer. He'd drifted into town and found her...then he'd fallen madly-in the most literal sense-in love with her and held her captive in an abandoned tool shed before she was finally able to escape. By some convenient coincidence, the second she got out a giant boulder crushed it, with him inside. Who knew?

Knock...

Knock, knock...

Bambambambambam!!

"What?! Oh...Jess." Mac blinked. "Stella?"

"Hi...Mac." Stella blinked as well. Mac had only opened the door a smidge, enough for him to stick his head out, while Angell and Stella were crowded around the tiny crack.

"Come in, come in." He rushed, guiding Stella by letting his hand rest by the small of her back. Her black silk dress had a v-back that dipped to her shoulder blades and made another diamond at the small of her back. His hand was just close enough to feel her skin a hair's distance from his fingertips. It had been Angell's age since he touched a woman in an even remotely intimate way. He liked it.

"Mac-y boy!" Angell beamed.

"I told you to stop giving me nicknames." Mac grumbled.

"I know, but I'm your sister, and I may never get another chance to embarrass you in front of a girl again." Came her excuse.

"Stella, how are you?" Mac smiled brightly at the Greek woman, taking his attention away from his sister.

"I'm well, thanks. My step mother and stepsisters are...themselves, and Aiden's summer coat is the healthiest it's ever been." Stella smiled back at him with her own pearly whites.

"That's good to hear." He nodded, genuinely enjoying the conversation.

"Yeah...how are things here?" She asked.

"Oh, the usual, meeting creepy women I really would prefer to never know in the first place." He sighed, sitting back in his chair.

"You work too hard, Mac, you need to loosen up." She smiled, reaching out and undoing a button on his shirt. The movement surprised Stella, dumbfounded Angell and shocked Mac, though he was averting his gaze shyly.

"Maybe when I finish these things." Mac sighed.

"No! No finishing things! You work hard enough! Take a break!" Stella shook her head. Angell's eyebrows shot up.

"I sense a night a out with the boys and girls of Hattanshire!"


	6. Get Out on the Town and In on the Gossip

Get Out on the Town and In on the Gossip

"Did you have any idea this existed?" Mac asked Stella.

"I didn't think this was possible." Stella murmured, her eyes wide.

"I didn't either, but as we're in a magical world with our magical friends I think it's possible...somewhat."

The modern city of Manhattan in the magical world was like a dream to Mac, Stella, Danny and Lindsay. The roads were wide and without walkways, as everyone either floated/flied or walked wherever they liked. The buildings were all brightly lit and several levels high each, seemingly reaching the sky. If only they had a name.

The girls were dressed casually and in more modern clothes. Angell, as usual, was in white and black; a white t-shirt blouse and black jeans. Stella and Lindsay were wearing normal dresses, a navy blue on for Stella and a misty blue one for Lindsay. Angell had made adjustments, though, by cutting a v-neck in each, the sleeves off, and the hems off until it was just below their knees. Poor Lindsay felt extremely exposed while Stella rather liked the v-neck, so she made it a bit lower. The boys were all dressed in black, Mac in a t-shirt, jacket and jeans, Danny in a t and jeans, and Flack had a t-shirt under a leather jacket and blue jeans, while Adam didn't own anything black before hand so he had to make do with a plain black long sleeved shirt.

"Welcome to our hangout!" Flack and Angell held their arms out as they swung the doors open. The bar was filled with plenty of odd characters, including fairies (who really didn't look like your stereotypical fairy but what're you gonna do, right?), guardian angels and even the occasional leprechaun who was there for a business deal but ordered a big ol' bowl of chili in the meantime just for the hell of it. It was nicely lit inside with dark wood and red leather seats. "Or as we call it, The Flang-out!"

"Flang-out?" Mac and Stella both asked skeptically.

"Yeah, Flack, plus Angell, plus hang out!" Angell smiled.

"Okay, so what are we doing here again?" Lindsay, Danny, Adam and Kendall all asked.

"Well after we have a few drinks to loosen up, we're gonna take the shire's here on a tour." Angell said over her shoulder while walking towards a large circular booth. "Yo!"

"Brew's all around?" The bartender shouted.

"You know it! And put it on Flack's tab!"

"Hey!" Flack went to glare at Angell but she simply batted her long dark lashes and gave him the puppy eyes and he was a gonner.

"How is it women just know how to do that and know it works?" Mac asked rhetorically, though he got an answer anyway.

"All girls are born with the ability to look cute, it just takes a master of the puppy dog eyes to work it." Stella answered him with a smile. He nodded, pretending it made sense and looked back at her in time to catch a wink. His eyes widened and a nervous embarrassment came to his face. "See what I mean?"

"No, not really..." He dead panned, turning back to Angell and Flack as they debated the water resistance of a fork made of sugar.

"I'm not a scientist! All I know about sugar, is that it tastes good, so why not make a fork out of sugar?" Flack asked loudly.

"I'm not a scientist either, but I still think it would melt, like it does in coffee, and tea!" Angell countered.

"Actually, although no one knows this officially, sugar is made up of tiny crystals that dissolve in water, making it look like it melts. What really happens, is the tiny crystals that make up its form, like say a sugar cube, break away from each other in liquid." Stella explained like it was simple. Dead. Silence. "What? I wasn't always having books thrown at my head, I did get to read some at some point."

"Mac, did you know that?" Angell asked.

"I knew the last part, but I didn't know they were tiny crystals." He admitted, looking at Stella with a hint of an impressed smile.

"In Basil's Manor, the orphanage, I was always with Dr. Hammerback, the alchemist who lived there." She smiled.

"You studied under Sid Hammerback?!" Danny pointed. "Mac's always wanted to meet him! He's his science lovin' nerdy hero!"

"He's still at Basil's Manor." Stella blinked turning to Mac. "I guess if I ever get the chance I could introduce you."

"Hey Mac, I think we found your dream woman." Danny put an around Stella's shoulder in a friendly gesture, and winked at his friend. Stella was happy to be friends with the man but couldn't help her heart speeding up inside her chest as she avoided Mac's eyes. She was happy for the distraction when frosty mugs of beer slid to each of their places.

"You guys don't have beer in Hattanshire do you?" Flack asked the people looking confusedly at the frosty mugs of alcohol. "I'll take that as a no. Adam, you haven't said a word yet, what's up? Adam?"

"He's gone...and so is Kendall." Angell whispered.

"Well then that leaves us! To friends, romans, countrymen and beer!" Flack cheered.

"Here-here!"

Linday took a sip of hers cautiously slurping it through her lips bit by bit. Her brows were tilted as she looked down at the amber liquid. "It's so...potent."

"Ah, you're a just a tender foot. You'll get used to it!" Angell smiled, patting the young woman on the head and taking a swig.

"Come on, Montana, bottoms up!" Danny took a gulp of his and simply smiled, despite the fact that his insides were coiling in reaction to the foreign substance. "It is kinda strong, but I like it."

Mac looked at it like it was a poisonous concoction and took a sip. After he put the glass down he tilted his head a number of ways and took another. "Not bad, but I wouldn't want it every night."

Stella sniffed it before taking a delicate sip. A smile came to her lips as she took another sip...then another...then another. After her fourth sip she'd drained the mug completely and held it out for another. "That stuff is pretty damn good-why don't we have this in Hattanshire?"

"Because no one's discovered how to make it, yet, I guess." Mac shrugged. "Maybe someone will soon."

"Hey Flack, give me another round!" Stella smiled.

"Easy there, li'l siss, I don't want you stumblin' on the streets of Manhattan." Flack frowned.

"Oh stop being a brother-hen and give me another beer!" She urged, holding her glass out again.

"Stop stiffin' the girl and give her one, Flack!" Angell put in for support, handing Stella the bottle herself. "There y'are!"

"Thanks Angell." The two clinked glasses and took huge gulps each. Lindsay choked on her sip just watching them. She coughed a bit as her cheeks turned a light pink. Danny patted her back gently and looked at her with concern, making her cheeks flush darker.

"Thanks." She mumbled, turning away from him.

"So let me get this straight, Jess is Mac's guardian angel, Flack is Stella's fairy god brother, the absent Adam is Linday's fairy god-somethin' or other so why am I here? I've never known anyone magical...except Merlin the magical toad with a white beard who was friends with Papa Smurf, but that turned out to be a dream." Danny said absently, finishing with a look as vacant as the rest of the table's.

"Well then you're just here for support." Flack joked, having already developed a friendship with the spiky haired man.

"Laugh it up, just don't take Jess wherever Adam took Kendall..."

"_Go fish." Said Adam. _

"_We ditched a party for this?" Kendall asked him from behind her rather lousy hand._

"_You're just mad 'cause you're losing." Adam smiled from behind his hand. He only gained confidence when she moved a lock of blond to cover her faint blush. "Got any...threes?"_

"_Dammit!"_

"Wherever that is." Danny shrugged.

"That's right, you have crush-?!" Asngell slapped a hand over Stella's mouth to prevent her from spilling her beans. She shook her head, to which Stella nodded hers.

"Who?" Flack asked.

"Sorry big bro, girls gotta stick together." Stella put her hands on Angell and Lindsay's shoulders who smirked. "Right?"

"Damn straight!"

"What?" Stella and Lindsay blinked.

"It'll catch on in a few centuries." Angell muttered.

"Oh...well, on that note, you got your eye on anyone Linds? Can I call you Linds?" Stella asked the younger woman sweetly.

"S-sure, yeah." Lindsay blinked with a small smile. The older woman was beautiful, smart and a tad intimidating on first glance, but she really was sweet. She really wanted to be friends with her...and really didn't want to answer the question. "It's better than what he calls me. Montana."

"What?! You're from the Montana Farmland Ranch, aren't you?" Danny asked, earning a stomp on the foot. "Ah!"

"Don't go givin' girls nicknames without their knowledge...only other girls can do that. Then, if they don't like it they can just say so and they're not stuck trying to beat your brains out." Angell said to Danny. "Right Mac-y?"

"Right, Jess. You ever had any nicknames Stella?" Mac asked.

"Some people have called me Stell, but that's about it." She shrugged.

"Stell. I like it, it suits you." He smiled at her with a raised eyebrow and his eyes playful. Her eyes met his and he felt a strange surge of testosterone go through him as he mustered up the confidence to wink at her flirtatiously. He'd turned the tides when he saw her surprised look, her face turning pink, making his heart flutter.

"I can feel the love tonight." Angell said to Flack in a quiet singsong voice.

"I can feel the silent gas comin' from Messer over here." Flack mumbled back. Angell let out a light laugh. "There's a smile."

"So what else did you have planned for us?" Danny asked.

"Well, now that everyone's done, I guess we should hit the town." Angell set her glass down. "Girls, you come with me."

"Mac, Danny, you guys are comin' with me I s'pose." Flack smiled. He liked the men already, though he was a little wary of Mac, if anything just because Stella liked him.

"And...break!"

"I don't know about this." Lindsay said unsurely as Angell sat her down in on the wooden chair in the interrogation like room.

"Oh, don't worry too bad sweetheart, it's just a harmless game that helps us get to know each other. It's called truth or dare."

"Okay, how does it work?" The tipsy cowgirl asked. She'd drunk only a half-a-beer but already her cheeks were flushed and she could probably be talked into anything.

"Well, if I choose you, you have to choose to either do anything I dare you to do, or tell the truth about any question I ask you." Angell smirked, sitting across from the younger woman. "The interrogation room touch is just fun for us magical police officers."

"Okay, I choose truth." She said drowsily with a pointing finger.

"Okay then...any men in your life?" Angell winked.

"What? What do you mean?" She asked, completely flustered by the question.

"Any special guy? That guy Danny Messer who came with you seemed to really like you, and don't think I don't see the way you look at him." Angell leaned forward and began to grin slowly. "Ah? Ah?"

"Danny Messer is a jerk! All he ever does is flirt and call me Montana, and that's just because he's a player!" Lindsay huffed.

"I think you think he's pretty cute." Angell raised an eyebrow, all out grinning like a monkey with a banana flavored cupcake.

"I don't care how goddam sexy he is I-?!" Lindsay realized what she said and felt more heat come to her cheeks. "Okay...I kind of like him, but I...I don't think he really likes me, you know?"

"Yup." Angell responded immediately with a nod.

"I don't think he'd ever really love me." The cowgirl sighed.

"Guys are pains in the neck." Angell concurred, offering the honey-blond a smile. She smiled back.

"Stella!" Lindsay burst suddenly. "I pick you next!"

"Okay then, I pick truth." She said with a crooked smile, sitting down in the chair.

"How much do you like Mac?!" Lindsay and Angell both asked sharply, Smacking their hands on the table and surprising Stella.

"I-I..." Stella looked from Lindsay, the woman who could be mistaken for a young girl if she tried, and Angell, the woman who really would punch you in the face and you would darn well respect her for it. "Well, to be honest, I think-think-THINK-I really like him."

"You think?" Angell blinked.

"Well, I'm not quite sure. I want us to be friends, and I think we could be really great friends, but I also think..." Stella trailed off, blinking herself into deep thought.

"Don't leave us hanging!"


	7. La Ristaurante Part 1: Enter Entrees

Enter Entrees

"So this is Manhattan." Mac remarked, looking up at the ridiculously tall buildings. "Who would make a building thirty-five floors high? What would that many floors even be used for?"

"I don't know what's up there, actually." Flack shrugged as he continued walking with his two new friends. "Some people say there's a mad scientist who lives up there and never ever leaves."

"I'd get vertigo looking out my own window." Danny shook his head, also looking up.

Splat!

"Oh, come on!" Danny wiped the pigeon poop off his glasses with disgust. "This was my favorite glasses cloth too."

"The one Lindsay gave you?" Mac teased, seeing a faint red come to his friend's cheeks. "For your birthday right?"

"Yeah, yeah, you shouldn't be talkin' Mr. Look at Stella's chest all night." Danny shot back, smirking when he saw the older man scowl.

"Well at least my hand wasn't hovering around her backside like Flack's was with Jess." Mac turned to Don, he frowned ever so slightly.

"Hey, watch it. Just because my sister likes you don't mean I have to." Flack pointed.

"Same here." Mac rebutted.

"Whoa! Look, guys, I may not have a sister, but let's not displace the mirth, 'ere. I'm kinda hungry, so why don't we see about grabbin' a bite, ah?" Danny suggested, patching things up quickly.

"Sure! I know where you can get the best steaks."

"Come on, please?" Lindsay begged, holding her hands together and looking at the older woman with large doe-brown puppy eyes.

"I told you, no." Stella persisted, walking behind Angell, who was floating a few inches of the ground and watching the younger women with amusement.

"Please?"

"No!" Stella repeated.

"Come on girls, Stella can tell us her secret over dinner. I know this great place where the steaks are free for the women of Fridays."

"No!"

"What?!" Flack and Angell shouted.

The two groups had chosen the same restaurant by accident and simply decided to eat together. They'd filed down the alley two by two-Mac with Stella, Danny with Lindsay and Flack with Angell in the front-and came to back door. Over it hung a sign saying _La Ristaurante _in black letters. Angell and Flack had knocked together, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar face.

"Tony's a no here! Now git! Before I call the police on-a-you!" He shouted with a heavy Italian accent.

"We are the police!" Flack cut in.

"And he always gave women the steaks for free!" Angell put in as well, looking at the man angrily.

"Well, I'm no givin' you no free steaks-a-so scram!" He brought out a broom and began to swing it blindly.

"Fine, we'll just buy them, like regular customers at your restaurant." Flack suggested, playing it cool and holding his hands up.

"Oh no! You no comin' in mia ristaurante! But, you can do somethin' to earn your steaks..."

"You've gotta be kiddin' me." Flack muttered, adjusting his tie.

This was not what he'd had in mind.

Alphonse, Tony's cranky sous-chef had told them that if they wanted food they'd have to work for it. He'd assigned Angell and Flack to be servers, Lindsay to work the entrance counter, Danny to be the doorman and Mac and Stella to work in the kitchen.

Angell and Flack were dressed in white blouses, red vests and ties, and black jeans, though she had to cut two holes in the back for her wings. Angel clothing already came with wing holes, just like normal clothes came with arm holes, it was just natural.

Lindsay was not usually so timid, but the characters in Manhattan scared her. She could handle herself in Hattanshire, but a cranky old women ran into her on the street and threatened to turn her into a fish! She didn't want to take any chances. Not to mention, everywhere she went, she felt like men were staring at her legs, and she didn't like it one bit. Stella was a long legged, beautiful woman, and she didn't seem to mind, but maybe it was just part of her more bold personality. Lindsay couldn't stand it.

Danny shuffled his feet to keep himself warm. He was in the tiny hallway that separated the outside from the front counter of the restaurant. While it didn't make sense to him to have two sets of doors to get in, a lot of Manhattan didn't make sense to him. Like the sweaters with hoods he saw everyone wearing. Who needed a hood on a sweater?

"Okay you two, you cook da food, and you cook it-a-good." Alphonse ordered sharply.

Mac was at the other end of the kitchen, at the stove and oven. He was wearing the white apron he was told to and was currently trying to check out the cooking supplies...he was failing though, as Al would NOT stop staring at Stella in that sleezebag way. "Right."

"So, Bella-"

"My name's Stella." She corrected quickly. For whatever reason he hadn't told her to wear an apron, but she grabbed one anyway, seeing how he was looking at her legs and chest so much. She'd also tied her hair into a bun, leaving only a few curls hanging beside her face.

"Bella-Stella." He kissed her hand and looked at her suggestively.

"Al, I think your costumers are waiting." Mac spoke suddenly, chopping carrots.

"Scusi, mia Stella." Al waved, giving Stella the creeps.

"Thanks." She smiled back at Mac shyly, who didn't really want to smile, but he couldn't help it. She looked so cute.

"No problem." He said in a gruff voice, making her turn away suddenly as she felt heat rush to her face and her heart begin to flutter wildly. Damn he was sexy!

"Order up!"

Flack and Angell had their magical hands full with the demanding customers. Angell was just about to rip her hair out. "Sir, for the last time, we don't have horse meat here."

"Well then you should get some, young lady!" The fat man huffed, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh, I ought'a..." Angell struggled to deck the man as Flack calmly dragged her back. "Let me at 'im!"

"No way, Jess, 'cause if you hit him he's gonna think it was me, and then I'll be stuck fighting a two hundred pound haunter." Flack murmured. The man was, in fact, a haunter; a ghost who came and went as pleased from the magical world to the human world. Though with all that moving one could think he'd get some exercise.

"Oh come on, Don, you could take him." Angell said happily.

"I'm not willing to find out right now."

"Welcome to La Ristaurante, where you get your bonapatite for your buck." Danny repeated for the fifth time that night. He was cold, sore, tired and most of all hungry. And looking in at a very distraught Lindsay, he could say he had the easy job.

"Okay, table for one in the corner, booth for two in the back..." Lindsay was struggling to keep up with the demand for tables, and the more customers that came in the louder they got. She was flustered to say the least. "Reservation for four-WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!!"

Silence.

"If you want your damn food you can get in a line and wait!" She roared, silencing everyone further. "Now move your magical-asses!!"

Danny chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "That's my girl."

"One spicy chicken a la fromagio!" Angell called into the kitchen.

"One chicken!" Mac brought it out of the freezer and placed it in a metal pan. "You got the sauce, Stella?"

"Right here!" She smiled, drizzling it on and letting the access run off the sides to sit in the bottom of the pan. She then added the sliced vegetables and spices and melted cheese sauce that gave it its name.

"In you go." Mac slid it into the oven easily and turned the knob to the right. Not even a minute later, it dinged. The magical world was extremely convenient, especially to the Hattanshire visitors. Perhaps someday someone would invent a machine that could cook things in minutes. "Done! Order up, Stell!"

"Here ya go!" Stella smiled at Angell, who thanked her, winked and put it on her tray to take to the snobby clientele. "This isn't so bad."

"Why don't we have places like this in Hattanshire?" Mac asked absently, tossing the knife in his hand and catching it perfectly-an old habit from his military days. He pulled out a stalk of celery from the bin beside him and began to chop.

"No one really sees the point in going anywhere else for dinner unless it's a family thing, or something, I guess." Stella shrugged, cutting her own vegetables and simmering them in ginger and juice to make a delightfully tangy-sweet marinade. "Still, this is fun. Usually when I cook I'm getting ordered, or shoved around, and the occasional piece of cutlery whipped at my head."

"Stella..." Mac looked at the woman, his brows tilted with worry, but she just shrugged and smiled. He blinked. How could she be so nonchalant? The thought of anyone hurting her made his blood boil; a feeling foreign to him. He'd never felt so protective of a woman.

"It's nothing, really. I'm used to them, and since I met Don, they're less trouble than ever. I was through worse at Basil's Manor, and besides, I turned out fine, didn't I?" She smirked flirtatiously.

"I guess." He joked back, smiling at her softly. Their eyes met and he noticed just much her eyes sparkled.

"If you two are done flirting..." Flack said, breaking them from their trance. "I need two t-bone steaks, well done, asap."

"Here you go, Don." Mac went to hand Flack the plate but the passage between the center island and the counter Stella was working at was narrow and his front brushed Stella's back ever so slightly. Time slowed in Mac's mind as he felt the heat of her soft skin hit him like steam from a sauna being let out in one big burst. If you asked any man from Hattanshire what he liked so much about women, he'd probably squint for a minute or two, then get a dopey grin on his face and say the dumbest thing possible. Women...were soft. Usually pretty. They had long hair...and they smelled good. That's probably what they'd say.

Stella had curls that smelled of ginger and mango, a warm softness that you saw in the form of a happy glow and yes, she was very pretty.

"Mac?"

"Hm?" Mac blinked.

"Gimme the damn steaks!" Flack barked.

"Oh, sorry, I was just...thinking." Mac shook his head and avoided Don's angry glare. He handed him the plates and went back to the stove.

"Stella, c'mere, hon." Flack wagged his fingers. "You be careful of him, you hear me? I don't want him anywhere near you, and if he touches you-"

"Yow!"

Stella and Flack looked over to Mac where he'd obviously made to bring his head up and only succeeded in hitting the metal ledge above the stove and denting it nicely.

"Flack!" Stella hissed, yanking on his tie and nearly strangling him. "He heard you!"

"Look, I just don't trust the ba-ah-" Flack gasped for air as Stella tightened her grasp around the knot. "Stella...can't...breathe..."

"Good." She muttered darkly before releasing him with a huff.

"Alright, alright, I'm off." Flack held up his hands in surrender to Stella and dashed away with the steaks on his tray.

"You better run!" Stella shouted after him, shaking her fist. She shook her curly head and turned back to her work. Her eyes drifted tp the large back of the Marine at the other end of the kitchen. The shadows in the fabric moved as he moved his arms to cut the celery and carrots. Her mind started to drift to the image of the muscles hidden under the blue cloth...

'_No, Stella, don't go there! He's a Prince! You're not even a peasant, you're a step-peasant. How many times must you be reminded-_'

"Stella, what's wrong?" Mac frowned.

"Nothing, just...thinking." She sighed. She thought about the answer she'd refused to give Lindsay, that she'd left her hanging on;

_I think I'm in love with him._


	8. La Ristaurante Part 2: Main Coarse

Main Coarse, Main Attraction

"Hold your horse heads!" Stella snapped at a headless knight who also carried his horse's head next to him. "You can't eat it anyway!"

The man's shoulders slumped as he walked away, his head's horse floating along beside him. "Oh..."

"One down..." Stella frowned. "Fish chowder!"

"Right here!" Angell scooped it up as soon as it hit the counter and carried it over to the table on her tray.

"Duck a l'orange!" Mac called next to Stella.

"I got it!" Flack replied.

"This is crazy." Stella said to Mac as she brought out yet another dish. She garnished the pasta with some parsley on top and turned to him with raised eyebrows. "I had no idea dead people ate so much."

"I know, it's insane." He agreed as he brought out his own bowl of onion soup.

"Order up!" They shouted simultaneously. Angell and Flack picked them up and went on their way again.

"We didn't sign up for this." Stella sighed, blowing a curl out of her line of vision.

"Tell me about it." Mac watched as the curl fell back into place, much to her chagrin. He chuckled and tucked it behind her ear, setting the skin just behind it aflame. Stella held her breath as her skin began to tingle where he'd touched her.

"Come on guys, we need a fish dinner and a pepper steak, what's the hold up?!" Flack shouted at them.

"Here you go, Flack!" Stella burst, shooting up and shoving it in his face.

"Thanks, Stell." He said skeptically, walking away slowly and motioning an _I'm watching you_ look at Mac with his fingers. "If you touch her..."

"Go, Don! GO!!" Stella urged, slapping the counter with a spatula.

"This just keeps getting crazier."

"You people have all the time in the world to wait, so stop badgering me!!" Lindsay huffed, scribbling like mad.

"Young lady, we are very hungry, what is the wait for?!" A man demanded loudly.

"You're already dead! You are not going to die waiting for another minute!" Lindsay snapped.

"How rude." A woman muttered.

"But I-"

"No buts, or I'll turn you into coal." The woman snapped back. "Now get us our table or you'll spend the rest of your life as a clump of soot."

"You're mean." Lindsay dead panned, sending the woman and her guests on their way with a dramatic wave of her hand. "Aprez-vous!"

"Well, it's about time." The phantom woman griped.

"You know what?" Linday asked, spinning around sharply so her straight, honey-blond hair hit her cheek. "You're an unpleasant person."

"And you're a whiney little child in a woman's body." The woman rebutted. Lindsay twisted her mouth in a muppet like way and looked at her.

"Bitch."

"Here's your turkey with mashed potatoes, sir." Angell said as she set the plate down while trying to balance the other dishes on her tray.

"Well, now I have my meal, my coffee and now where's my sugar?" He smirked, pulling out breath spray.

"You gotta be kiddin' me." Angell cursed under her breath.

"Come on honey, let me show you how to lose that tiara and grow some horns."

"Oh my-" Angell set the tray down and hit the man square in the jaw. A loud crack was heard when her first two knuckles met the man's jaw bone. He hit the floor with a thud, his hand dragging the tablecloth and the whole mahogany table down with him. Everything hit the ground as he did.

"Hey!" A man from another table shouted.

"Hey yourself!" Flack grabbed him by the back of his jacket and swung him around and into the next table. The man knocked the food off the table and hit the ground next to the other one.

"What're you doin?" A man dressed in Santa suit-yes, a santa suit-shouted at Flack, shooting up in anger, seeking revenge for his lost casserole. "Huh?! What're you doin' man?!"

"Get off him!" Angell grabbed the santa imposter and kicked him in the stomach then hopped onto his back, sending him straight into the wall. She jumped off as soon as they came too close and avoided hitting the wall with him.

"Don't touch my boyfriend!" A young woman dressed as an elf-yes, an elf-screamed at Angell, slapping her and yanking on her hair.

"Ow! Get off me!" She slapped woman's hand away and backhanded her herself. The two women quarreled fiercely while Flack and santa started fighting like dogs and roosters crossed with alligators.

"Bring it, fairy-boy!" Santa called.

"Same to you, Old Saint Dick!" Flack tackled him with all-star quarterback force, sending him against the wall again.

"You sure you're an angel and not a harpy?" The blond elf teased. Angell bristled and held up her fists again.

"Pretty damn, Jingle-bitch!"

"Wow I'm glad I'm not out there." Stellar murmured as she watched from behind the safety of the food window/counter. She turned to Mac, who was also watching with an expression like he was back on the battlefield watching a war from behind a barrier.

"That makes two of us. Angell, has never been one to act...ladylike through someone else's will. If she wants to act like a rough around the edges kind of girl, she will, no one can stop that." Mac began with a faint smile. "I'm more than okay with it, as a matter of fact, I prefer women who are less timid and uniform and more...bold."

"Well, I guess the prince of Hattanshire has strayed from his duties a bit, hasn't he?" Stella smirked at him. "I thought you were the perfect gentleman who was supposed to like perfect ladies."

"There's no such thing as perfect, but..." He turned to look at her playful face again. A grin danced its way onto his lips as well. "You come pretty close."

"You're a real flirt deep down, aren't you?" She laughed, though her heart fluttered as his flattering words sunk in.

"Only for you." He laughed at himself, having never been so bold with a woman before. Not even with Claire. He was a bit of a grump back then and he only got worse after her death. Stella, though, brought out some part of him that still wanted to smile. It was a tiny part, one that had given up on his closed mind long ago, but it was there.

"Oh, you're just a big softie." She kissed his cheek affectionately.

"Do you think we should help them?" He asked.

Fwoosh!

Stella and Mac turned to see the oven completely engulfed in red hot flames. Their eyes widened with less fear and more surprise. "Oh."

"We have problems of our own, it would seem."

"Hey!" Danny stood in front of Lindsay protectively, swatting at the snapping jaws of the patronage. "Hey! Back off!"

"All we want is to be seated so we can eat!" One woman sighed.

"And all I want is a flying monkey to bring me coffee in the morning but we all gotta make sacrifices, now back up." Danny directed, his eyes blazing through his glass lenses.

"You know, I'm tired of being little miss courteous." Lindsay said, stepping out from behind the counter.

"You, young lady, get me my table-"

Whap!

"Gah!" The man stared at the farm girl in shock, holding the part of his head where she'd hit him with the menu.

"Get out of my face for one second!" She puffed.

"Excuse me, I-"

Whap!

"You too!" She pointed, flattening her eyes and knitting her brows.

"Yes, ma'am." He shut up, holding his hands up.

"I am so done with all of you." Lindsay made to leave for the kitchen, wanting to tell her friends that she was done; that she would rather go hungry for the night than put up with more snobby ghosts. Except that when she reached the dining room she found chaos. Absolute pandemonium overwhelmed the whole place as Angell and Flack were beating one magical couple in particular who were dressed as Santa and his elf. Angell was pulling the woman's ears to see if they would come off while Flack was yanking on santa's hat for the same reason, though it seemed neither the ears nor the hat could come off.

"Mac! It's way too hot!" Stella's voice shouted from the kitchen.

"Stella you're getting me all wet!" Mac shouted back.

Lindsay and Danny traded looks. "Maybe...we should go."

"I don't know what the hell this is!" Stella looked at the metal canister labeled, _Fire Extinguisher_, with confusion. It was completely strange to her. "It says fire extinguisher but I don't know how to use it!"

"Here." Mac put the sink hose down and went back to Stella, looking at the contraption with her.

"Here we go." Stella pulled the release as Mac detached the small hose neck from the side of the can. They both pulled the trigger at the same time as foam began to spurt and sputter out of the nozzle. "Oh!"

"So that's how you work it." Mac mumbled as the grease fire was put out easily. "We ought to have these in Hattanshire."

"Oh my god." Stella slumped down to the floor and tucked her knees to her chest.

"You okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, just...this has been..." Stella paused.

"Crazy?" Mac suggested.

"Yes. Crazy, but fun." She smiled.

"Stella, I..." Mac looked at her inquisitive face and felt his insides begin to churn. Something about her piqued every interest of every sense in him, and he loved it. Part of him was afraid; afraid of betraying Claire, betraying his safe albeit lonely world he was used to now.

"People like you are the reason people like me need headache medication." Angell shouted from the dining area.

"I guess we should try and help them." He sighed, not really wanting to leave his comfy place next to Stella.

"I guess so." She nodded. They made to get up when a plate flew by and crashed against the far wall opposite of them. "On the other hand they seem to be handling it well."

"I'm sure Jess is tying up captives as we speak."


	9. La Ristaurante Part 3: Just Desserts

Just Deserts

"What did you think you were-a doin' to ma restaurante, ah?!" Al raged at the line of Manhattan/Hattanshire-ers.

They were all kerfuffled in some way or another and lined up like they were in the principal's office in school, in trouble for starting a food fight. Angell and Flack had bits of food on and in them everywhere. Her chocolate brown locks were ridden with food and her tiara of authority was no longer at her hair line, slightly hidden under her side bangs, but now disheveling her look by sliding around. His short dark hair had bits of various meals in it. Lindsay and Danny had a few pieces of stray food on them, though what really stood out on them were the bruises and scrapes. Lindsay had only a little bump on her forehead while Danny's entire left cheek was slightly purple and swollen to the point he couldn't speak properly, if at all. His glasses were also bent. Mac had black smudges mixed with foam in various places on him while his hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. Stella's curls were laden haphazardly around her face having fallen out of the bun a while ago and her dress had various splotches of color on it, presumably food.

"In our defense, if you had just given us the steaks for free, like-"

"Don't-a start with me!" Al pointed to Angell's face.

"Look, why don't you just give us our steaks, we'll eat them, and be on our way?" Stella suggested in a light tone, appealing to the man's inner pervert with her breath filled words.

"Okay, mia-Stella, for you." He patted her hand gently.

"Um...right...thanks." She turned around, a clear look of disgust on her face, no doubt because of him. She shot back beside Mac, or rather, slightly behind him. He held his arm out protectively for her.

"Two steaks for you, both pepper marinade." He smiled.

"Thanks for nothin." Flack scowled, taking them and guiding Angell away, carefully avoiding her wings.

"You're welcome. You two, farm raised beef steaks with our famous sweet marinade that's usually for pork-"

"Morty!" Lindsay burst scaring everyone. She grabbed the closest thing to her-in this case, a tin pitcher for whine-and clunked Al on the head with a solid _clank_. "Oh my poor Morty, bless his muddy soul."

"Geez...I don't think he's gonna wake up from that." Stella and even the rest of them all looked down at the unconscious cook.

"Don't worry, Morty, I will _never_ stop fighting for your revenge!" Lindsay cried dramatically as Danny guided her away, her arm still in the air as a declaration of her new found passion for righteousness.

"Um...I don't know what that was." Mac dead panned.

"Hey!" Stella piped. "Here are ours!"

"Oh, these look pretty good." Mac smiled.

Stella sniffed them and smiled brightly, showing her perfect pearly white teeth. "Ooh! Citrus marinade!"

"Come on, let's..." Mac looked down at the unconscious Alphonse. "Eat these in peace."

"Hey Flack?" Angell asked, swallowing a chunk of steak.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Stella likes Mac?" She asked him with a slight frown.

"She's crazy 'bout him, why?" He asked as a frown came to his face as well. Her normal smile had disappeared completely.

"I don't want either of them to get hurt, you know?" She asked with worry in her voice.

"Yeah, I know, but I think those two are bound to realize sooner or later that they're madly in love." Flack sighed. He hated to admit it, but as much as he liked bugging her by being overprotective he could see how the sparks flew when their eyes met. They'd only known each other-been friends-for a short time, but he could see the goddamned chemistry between the two lovebirds. "Gross."

"It is not gross, Donald Flack!" Angell scolded. "I think it's wonderful those two have found people who make them happy...whom in this case happen to be each other."

"Yeah, yeah, so long as they don't elope here in Manhattan and start havin' a million little Stella-Mac babies." He grumbled.

"Don!" Jess punched him on the arm, neither too lightly nor too hard, and leaned in. "That is so not cool!"

"Oh come on, they're probably sneaking off to make out as we speak!" He said in his defense. "Well speak of the devils."

"What?" Asked Jess.

"What'd I tell you?" He smirked, pointing to where Mac and Stella were slinking off to the stair case that lead to the roof.

"Oh, leave them alone, they're just going to talk about science and other boring stuff like that."

"You think Flack and Angell will ever realize what they have?" Stella asked Mac as they sat on the cold stone of the restaurant's roof.

"Maybe, but chances are they're too stubborn to admit anything just yet." He chuckled, swinging his legs over the edge.

"Yeah, I think they're in love, they just don't know it yet." She concurred, swinging her legs over as well and sitting next to him.

"What about Danny and Lindsay? I've known those two almost my whole life, but Danny's liked her for a while." Mac blinked. "But then he always screws it up when he calls her Montana."

"Yeah, she told Angell and I about that. I think they're adorable."

"Achoo!" Lindsay sneezed suddenly.

"Bleshu." Danny mumbled.

"What?" She frowned. She made on '_O_' shape with her mouth as he simply pointed to his purple and swollen cheek. "Does it hurt?"

He nodded, closing his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry Danny." She was about to touch his good cheek when... "Achoo! Goodness, maybe someone's talking about me."

"How's your steak, Stell?" Mac asked after a comfortable silence.

"It's good, thanks, how's yours?" She asked in return with a smile.

"Pretty good, but I think it could use something...more." Instead of asking if she knew what he meant he simply turned to her and asked her eyes to meet his. They locked and he knew she did.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's missing...something." She agreed, looking at it while tilting her head like a bird.

"I'll have to try making it back in Hattanshire." He smiled.

"I'd try that." She nodded.

"I'll hold you to that." He pointed playfully.

"Mac, I-" Stella lost her train of thought as their eyes met again. Peridots met oceanic orbs as the storm began to brew. Her curls blew around her face in the gentle but chilly breeze, making her shiver. Well...it was half from that and half from the intensity of Mac's look. It made her think of things _ladies_ were supposed to never think of in their day and age; marriage, a baby, or babies, a nice house and garden...oh dear lord, she had it bad. He was a Prince and she was...not a princess.

"Yes?"

"Hm?"

"You...were you going to say something? You just kind of..."

"Oh, sorry, I...I, um...I don't know. Was I?"

"I'm not sure."

Another silence settled in as the two sat unable to tear their eyes off of each other. Mac's eyes were glued to her dimly lit face and the honey-burnt curls that danced around her shoulders. Stella was entranced by his hurricane-intense yet gentle blue eyes and strongly handsome face. Neither of them could recall what they were doing.

"What were we talking about?"

"Hm...my flirty sense is tingling." Flack frowned.

"Excuse me?" Angell frowned, furrowing her brows.

"Something tells me Mac and Stella are off somewhere they think we won't find them and are flirting with each other." He elaborated.

"Okay...you can play psychic if you want, I wanna finish my dinner." She shook her head, reaching for another bite.

"Come on, Jess!" He grabbed her wrist and dragged her up and out of their booth, rushing to the door. "To the Flackmobile!"

"The what-now?"

"Where are you guys going?" Lindsay called.

"You guys come too!" Flack shouted to them.

"Where?!"

"To the Flackmobile!" He waved, signaling them to follow him, which they did. "Awaaaaaaaaay!"

"What were we talking about a second ago?" Mac squinted.

"I don't really remember." She squinted as well.

"Stella."

"Mac."

The two felt the magnetic pull between them intensify as they began to lean forward, lips almost touching when they heard a screech.

"Cheez on rye, Flack, slow down!" Angell's voice shouted.

"Where are they?!" He asked back, rounding another corner.

"I don't know, but running down everyone in Manhattan won't help us to find them." She huffed pointedly, gripping her seat.

"You guys okay back there?" Flack asked Danny and Lindsay.

They didn't answer, seeing as how they were both hugging each other for dear life.

"Don, how did you even get this thing?!" Jess demanded, completely in the dark as to how he'd get the Flackmobile, which was actually just a police car but painted black and sleeker.

"What the-?!" Mac and Stella leaned over slightly to see a black car speed through the streets of Manhattan, disrupting the usual manner people walked/floated/flied around as they pleased. "Oh no."

"I told Stella to stay away from him! I am gonna give that li'l lady _quite_ a talking to when we go home!" He huffed.

"You sound like an overprotective father." Angell rolled her eyes. "What do you really think they're doing, Don?"

"When I find those two I'm gonna..." Flack growled.

"What, Flack? You gonna beat up Mac?" Angell asked flatly.

"I could take him." Flack shrugged.

"Not if Stella takes his side, which she would, and joins in the fight." Jess laughed, imagining Flack and Mac in a fist fight while Stella jumped on Flack's back. "Oh, that would be enjoyable."

"I feel like I'm lookin' for disobedient teenagers." He grumbled.

"Well, we're thousands of years older than them, so technically..."

"Don't make me punish you too."


	10. News, Booze, and Fancy Shoes

News, Booze and Fancy Shoes

"You are in_ so_ much trouble, young lady." Flack scolded.

"Geez, Flack, so Mac and I ate on the roof, big deal." Stella rolled her eyes as she sat before Flack in her living room back in Hattanshire. She was seated in front of the warm fire while Flack was pacing.

"So, I told you to stay away from that guy!" He blustered, waving his hands around madly like some kind of...mad...goat.

"Look, I don't know why you're freaking out about this, but I'll probably never even see him again." She sighed.

"Oh, you will." Flack sighed as well. "Angell said she's already planning your next date."

"Really?" Stella perked up, trying not to sound too eager, but failing. Who was she kidding? Mac was a gorgeous man with charm, charisma, personality, and a chest like...BOOM!

"Yeah, yeah, she's talking to him as we speak about some party..." Flack mumbled, dismissing it with a wave. "Don't distract me!"

"Yes, sir." She mock saluted.

"Ah...Stell, I'm just tryin' to look out for you." He reached out a hand and ruffled her curls. She tried to scowl but it ended up a half-pout-half-smile while she smoothed them out as much as they really could be.

"I know, Don, I know. You're just being a good big brother." She rolled her eyes, though she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She enjoyed having him around, especially since her step family was out of the house as much as possible since they developed their irrational fear of goats and porkchops. They were at a cottage in the woods to avoid them as they spoke. "But, you need to leave my boyfriend and I alone."

"Your boyfriend?" He smirked as her jaw dropped. Realizing her mistake heat rushed to her cheeks and she released his shoulders, turning away from him. "You're losing your touch, there, sis."

"Shut up." She grumbled.

"Ooh, Mac! Ooh, yeah, oh yeah, oh Mac, your lips!" Flack laughed at the mortified Greek woman, pointing at her red and gaping face and continued to tease her shamelessly, this time turning to fake making-out with someone. "Ooh Mac! I can't keep my eyes off you! Ooh!"

Bam!

"Gah!" Flack shook his head and looked back at her. "Stella!"

"Hey, you brought that on yourself." She said pointedly, tapping the frying pan on her shoulder.

"Yeah, well it hurts, and if I could be killed by that kind of thing, I really would be dead." He rebutted, pointing a finger.

"Fine, I'll stop hitting you with frying pans if you stop with the boyfriend jokes."

"Mac, I'm telling you, holding this ball will be good for you! You can invite Stella, introduce her to your society, maybe even get a kiss Flack won't barge in on!" Angell said happily, holding her hands out as she floated down the corridor with him.

"How do you know about that?" Mac squinted. There was no use in denying it, since she was going to find out one way or another and if she didn't find out through word of his mouth she'd never let him forget it. Plus, he was sure she'd noticed his blush as well.

"I was in the car-erm...Flackmobile, with him, I saw you two dodge off the roof and back into the restaurant to meet us outside afterward.

"We...we weren't...I mean, we weren't going to..."

"Oh, Mac...poor, naive Mac." Angell patted his shoulder, much to his chagrin. "I know you were going to kiss her. So I just have one thing to say to you. Move faster dammit!"

Mac was floored-to say the least-at her abrupt outburst. She hit him lightly on the arm and looked at him expectantly. "What?"

"You heard me! If you're gonna kiss her, just do it!" She growled. "Wait! If you were really going to kiss her you wouldn't just do it. She and you had a magnetic moment, didn't you?! Oh my gosh! This is just too good! You'reinloveyou'reinloveyou'reinlove!!"

"Jess, calm down, we are not in love." Mac sighed, shaking his head, though he neither confirmed nor denied her statement directly.

"You are too! You have to have it now!" She persisted.

"What good would it do anyone for me to hold this party anyway?"

"How about this? Hold the ball, invite everyone, but they all have to come in anonymity!" Angell suggested enthusiastically. "That way you and Stella could find each other and know your love was true!"

"Jess, Stella and I have known each other for less than a week, and you think we'd be able to find each other in a crowd of a hundred people?" He smirked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, I do, because you'd recognize her anywhere from a mile away and you know it, don't you?" She had a point. She knew they'd already formed a stronger connection than most people got in a lifetime. He'd recognize her from a lightyear away, he'd grown so familiar and fond of her, and she knew the same went for Stella.

"She doesn't exactly blend in." He murmured, smiling warmly.

"You love that cute curly hair." She teased, poking him. She put her feet on the ground and walked up to him, looking into his eyes. "I know you're afraid to love again, but I know she won't hurt you like that. As much as I wish I could protect you from this, I can't, because I can't protect you from true love. It's not my business with whom you fall in love with, but I know you both love each other."

"Do you think it's too soon?" He asked her, which was basically admitting defeat in that special Mac-Taylor-Stubborn-Like-A-Horse's-Ass-Way.

"Not if it's real. So get things ready with Lindsay, I'll talk to Danny about it and tell Flack to invite our more magical friends."

"Adam, you're magical, can't you do something about this damn headache?" Lindsay moaned, running a hand through her hair.

"Abracadabra? Alakazam? Bibbidy bobbidy boo? Chumba Wumba?" He tried, flustered. "There's nothing I can do, Linds."

"Come on!" She groaned, flopping back down to her comforter with her eyes closed. Adam, who was seated on her tiny bedside table with his legs crossed, simply blinked.

A knock on her door broke the silence. "Lindsay?"

"What?!" She snapped, not sitting up.

"Lindsay...?...It's Mac."

"Mac...oh geez, Mac!" She bolted up from her bed and swung the door open just as he was about to knock again. Her expression was that of surprise, as was Mac's. His hand was suspended in the air. "Hi..."

"Hi..." He blinked. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm okay, except for this damn headache! It's like someone ran me over with a herd of goats!" She groaned again.

"Funny you'd use goats." Mac smiled to himself, remembering how Angell had told him that Flack trampled Stella's stepsister with a herd of magical goats.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Angell told me that beer will do that to people who aren't used to it." He chuckled, walking in casually, his hands in his pockets. He nodded to Adam, who seemed nervous around him.

"I bet Stella doesn't have a headache." Lindsay mumbled under breath, only a little jealous. Her head was killing her...torturously!

"In any case, Jess has suggested I hold a ball-"

"Oh! That would be wonderful, Mac! You could invite all the lords and ladies, and we could have a wonderful orchestra, chefs come in from the kingdoms afar and gorgeous decoration of the ball room and gardens!" Lindsay began, saying it all in one breath with starry eyes.

"Lindsay-"

"And we'd have to bring only the best tailors-"

"Lindsay-"

"The gardens will have to be tended to specially-"

"Lindsay!"

"Yes?" She turned with a smile.

"While I was hoping you'd take care of that, Angell also wants us to invite our magical friends and-"

"You are inviting Stella, aren't you?!" She asked loudly.

"Of coarse." He nodded with a quirky smile.

"Good! I'll make up an invitation right now!" Lindsay went over to her desk and whipped out a piece of paper. She smoothed it down and chose her inkwell carefully. She took the pen, dabbed it in the ink, and began to write like a madwoman! Shakespear had nothing on her as the tip flew over the paper like...like something...that's really fast! When she'd finished in record time, she held it up to review her work, and blew on it. She folded it carefully once she was sure the ink was dry and then handed it to Mac. "Give this to Angell to take over."

"Thanks Lindsay. You can wait until you're headache's gone to write the formal invitations." Said Mac.

"Thanks, I think I'll take you up on that offer." She replied, holding her head. "Adam?"

"Boom?"

She glared at him with frustration. "That's Danny's line."

"Sorry...I still got nothing."

"Hey Angell, what's this party plan you've come up with?" Danny asked her with a smirk.

"Well, I thought Mac really needed a push into this, so I figure why not have some fun with it." She shrugged with a smile.

"Well, it could be interestin' but what's the twist?" He frowned.

"It's gonna be a masquerade kind of thing. I wanted Mac to see that he's fallen in love Stella." She smiled tenderly, warmth overcoming her voice. "So I suggested it be an anonymous event."

"Yeah, that could be fun." Danny said, putting his hands in his pockets and blinking a few times. His glasses were bent and he couldn't get them repaired, so he was a little hard at sight for the time being. Glasses weren't so common in Hattanshire, and he was the only person he knew who wore them. A Doctor Sid invented them, but they were seldom seen, let alone sold. He'd have to wait for a traveling weirdo or something of the sort. "So what do you have planned?"

"Well, I was thinking we could spice things up a little bit." She started with an innocent smile, but devilish eyes.

"What've you got up those white sleeves o' yours, ah?"

"Just a little thing from Manhattan called booze. It's quite the strong li'l mixture, and it only takes a few drops in the punch to knock these alcohol-virgin Hattanshirans on their asses singing ring around the rosy." She smiled slyly, showing him the tiny bottle that was probably no more than four ounces. "If we put this in the punch, not only would those tight asses be a lot more fun, but it would ensure Mac and Stella don't recognize each other right away."

"Wait, I thought we wanted 'em to recognize each other." Danny frowned, crossing his arms.

"Well, yeah, but not the minute they see each other, that would be pointless. They'd just act the way they did in Manhattan, and if they keep up that rate, you'll all be dead before they even hold hands." She stated bluntly, quirking her eyebrows for emphasis. "This'll just ensure they loosen up a bit. Mac's too stubborn to do anything against his inner militant's morals, and Stella's too afraid of intruding she won't make the first move. This won't hurt anyone."

"Right, and what makes you think I wanna be an accomplice to this?" He asked with his own eyebrows raised in question.

"You're the fun one, I thought you'd want to do it. Besides, no one has to know, and if anything, if Lindsay gets drunk again she'll be leaning on you, cowboy." She elbowed him.

"Hey, I'm not a player, okay? I care about Lindsay." He frowned.

"Good! I was afraid you were gonna say something stupid and I was gonna have to kick your ass." She poked his chest. "So, you in?"

"Hell yeah, but only because I hate those stuck up snobs. Mac hates 'em too, but he has to deal with 'em all the time. One Miss Ella McBride has quite the crush on Mac and called my Lindsay a stupid farm girl. I've never wanted to hit a girl so badly." He huffed.

"Your Lindsay?" Angell smiled. He simply looked away and scratched his neck. She patted his back. "I won't tell her...yet. But I will if you don't soon!"

"I just...I don't know if I should or..."

"Well dispute it like a man!" She urged, slapping his arm and smiling. "The wisest words ever written by William Shakespear."

"Right, just remind me of his wisdom if Lindsay slaps me so hard my cheek'll be permanently swollen." He glowered.

"She's crazy about you, Danny-boy!" Angell laughed.

"Okay, okay, just get that invite to Stella. I'll be here with the bees."

"Booze."

"Whatever!"

Angell was flying to Stella's home quickly. Her wings-they were for flying, not just decoration-flapped only when she wanted to pick up speed; her magical floating ability allowed her to fly even without moving her wings. Still, it was good exercise. She spotted the large stone house and drifted down easily, landing gracefully. Her black heeled boots made a light rustling sound on the lush grass below. She looked through a high window with a serious expression. She saw a halo of curls walk by and smiled, floating up to the window.

"I'm not listening-lalalalalala!" Stella said loudly, plugging her ears and continuing to walk away from Flack. She was about to turn a corner when-

Bam!!

"Hey guys!" Angell greeted happily, kicking the locked window in and perching on the ledge like a bird. Her right hand held the stone shape of the window while the other rested on her bent knee.

"Hey Angell, come on in!" Stella replied with equal zeal. A few days ago such an entrance would've startled her, but not anymore. Not after the crazy but fun events of Manhattan. "What's up?"

"Well, I convinced Mac to have this fancy ball, right? Well, they're getting ready for it as we speak, and there's a certain special lady he wants right there with him. Well, actually, the whole thing will be in anonymity, which kinda sucks right now, but it was my idea. I thought that if you two could find each other through the crowd, you'd definitely recognize each other, and know you both truly loved each other!" Angell smiled brightly at her friend, touching her hands in a supportive gesture.

"Really? Wow, that sounds...wow." Stella gaped with her jaw slack and her jade eyes wide.

"Here's the invitation Lindsay wrote up for you both." Angell pulled it out of her white leather jacket's inside pocket and gave it over.

"Dear Stella, you have been invited to the Grand Ball of Prince Mac being held tonight at the palace. Formal wear for the evening and anonymity must be retained however you like. The ball will end after midnight, before dawn, and guests are requested to have their own means of transportation back to their homes. The main reason for this is we're all pulling for you and Mac to get together over here, so come on! We'll all be here, you'll get your proper date with Mac, and you can bring Flack if you want, but only because he and Angell like-"

Angell quickly snatched it out of Stella's hands and put it back in her jacket with slightly flushed cheeks. "There wasn't a whole lot else on there. Basically, it's tonight, talk about a rush job, no one'll recognize anyone, and we all want you and Mac to get together...yay!"

"Except for me." Flack cleared his throat and raised a hand.

"Yeah, but you don't count in this." Angell dead panned with an affectionate smile. She turned back to Stella with a wide smile. "Well?"

"We'll be there!" Stella beamed with a happy flush. This was all so exciting! "Oh wait...I have absolutely nothing to wear!"

"Don't worry, honey, we're gonna give you a make-over!" Angell winked at her friend.

"What do you mean?" Stella asked with furrowed brows.

"Stella, you're striking, but that's the problem, 'cause he can't be able to recognize you right away. I think it's time we called in a favor."

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin?" Flack smirked at her.

"We have a few friends, who...owe us, let's say."

"Well, well, Dr. Sheldon Hawkes." Flack greeted.

"Hello Flack, how are you?" The man asked politely. He was a dark skinned man with glasses and a kind face.

"Good, thanks, now, the reason I called you guys..." Flack looked over his two recruits; Sheldon Hawkes and Kendall Novac. Angell was standing beside them with her arms crossed. "We need your help."

"With what, exactly?" Asked Kendall.

"We're making over Miss Stella Bonasera."

"Somebody say my name?" Stella asked from beside Aiden.

"Oh good, you brought Aiden." Angell took her reigns. "Stallion?"

"Hm...she's a female. There ought to be a different name for female stallions." Dr. Hawkes mused.

"Oh well, no one wants to take the time to make one up these days, now, to the mission at hand." Angell declared.

"What exactly are you gonna do?" Stella asked with a frown.

"Don't worry, hon, it won't hurt a bit." Angell and Kendall looked at her with scrutinizing gazes. It made Stella more than a tad uncomfortable, but they continued. "I think I have an idea for the dress."

"Yeah, and I'm thinking half up, half down style. Tie it back with a ribbon. What about jewelry?" Asked Kendall.

"Star necklace, of coarse. Peridot star on a gold plate band. Peridot earrings too." Said Angell.

"Anyone gonna let me in on this?" Stella asked, though she got no response.

"Alright, Hawkes, try something like this." Angell said, handing him a quick sketch of an evening gown and necklace with matching earrings. "Think you can?"

"Are your wings white?" He smirked, earning a flat look in return.

"What're you gonna do?" Asked Stella.

"Don't worry, my dear-"

"Hey, you see a tail back there?" She asked bluntly, pointing.

"Sorry. Don't worry, Stella, just close your eyes." He said, watching her do so and take a deep breath. "You can trust me."

"Just hurry up." She murmured.

"We wouldn't want to keep your date waiting." He pulled out what looked like a scalpel, but it clearly served a separate purpose. He waved it like a magic wand, making a cloud of emerald sparkles form with a warm wind. It blew around Stella's stiff form and glowed brightly.

The dress she'd been wearing, black and form fitting glowed bright green. It was transformed into a breath taking deep green gown. It went around her neck and crossed over her bare back. It couldn't have fit better if they'd made with her already in it. The satin material shimmered in the moonlight, accentuating her curves. A slit beginning just above her knee went on a slant to expose her legs an appropriate amount, emerald green waves of material at the seam like a flamenco dancer's dress. It ended just above her ankles in the back. A silver bracelet appeared on her right wrist and her hair was swept up into a half-up-half-down style, tied by a emerald green ribbon. Small peridot gems in the shape of stars for earrings and a peridot star hung off a gold band that had a very queenly look to it. It clipped at the delicate nape of her neck, hidden by her caramel curls.

Slowly, she allowed her eyes to flutter open. "What was that? What are you, some kind of magic fashion Nazi?"

"Actually, I'm a scientis from Manhattan. I live in an exceedingly tall building, and am a doctor there. I recently discovered how to make things out of thin air, with magic, though." He explained evenly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Okay...after this last week nothing really suprises me anymore. Anyway, how do I look?"

"You look stunning!" Angell hugged her friend tightly.

"Thanks, Angell. So, I'm ready to go?"

"Hold on. One. Shoes..." Angell tapped her chin for a moment, then looked at Hawkes. "Could you zap her up some heels please?"

"Sure, what kind?"

"Hm...something special. Individual...oh! I know!" She whispered something in the dark skinned magician/scientist's ear.

"Alright." He snapped his fingers and-boom!

"Glass?" Stella asked. The shoes were made of clear glass tinged green.

"Two. Sunglasses please."

He snapped, and magically, a pair of reflective, stylish sunglasses appeared on her head, nestled into her curls. They were dark but reflected the light mysteriously. "Anything else?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could be her coach, just keep an eye on her, you know?" Angell requested, to which he nodded and bowed. He snapped and changed his outfit into that of a coach's. "Here Aiden."

"Okay, now we just gotta get you outta there by midnight. The doc's alchemical creations have a time limit considering they're made out of thin air, so we can't stay long, or everything'll revert back to normal, and not that it's life or death, but Hattanshirens don't react well to magic. Especially not the cranky old folk."

"Okay, before midnight." Stella nodded.

"Let's go." Angell and Stella climbed into the impromptu carriage made out of a Greek tomato she was going to season, but...apparently they had other plans for it.

"Let's." Flack agreed, climbing in with them, after Kendall.

"This thing smells like...well, Italian Marinara."


	11. The Tipsy TwoStep

The Tipsy Two-Step

"Perfect!" Lindsay smiled, clapping her hands together as she walked all over the palace grounds to inspect the work.

The gardens were beautifully kept and lightly blanketed in dew. The luscious greens of the bushes and grass accentuated the deep browns of the healthy trees and colors of the flowers.

"Good work!" Lindsay smiled, letting the cool evening breeze brush her sandy blond hair against her happily flushed cheeks. Her cream-white gown blew in the breeze around her legs, the hem just under her knees. The blouse was without shoulders but the sleeves were long and billowing.

"Hey Lindsay, the guests will be arriving soon." Mac said from behind her, fixing his cuffs. His suit was a plain black one with a black silk shirt with the first two buttons undone. He didn't wear a tie; he hadn't even touched a tie since Stella had loosened his before they went to Manhattan.

"Hey Mac, looking good!" She said excitedly with raised eyebrows. "You wanna look good for Stella, huh?"

"Oh, um..." He began to stutter nervously, feeling heat rush to his cheeks at the thought of her opinion. Though the admittance was for his mind only, he'd tried incredibly hard to dress-to-impress. Stella being the one from whom he was trying to grab attention. The woman had absolutely claimed his mind as a hostage, invading his every thought and quickly making herself at home in his heart. He had no idea how it had happened, but he'd fallen in love with this Greek Goddess come to earth, and he wasn't going to let her go. She'd invaded his mind and heart too much to let that happen. He wasn't a romantically gifted man, and he really didn't believe in the whole love-at-first-sight, weak in the knees, taking over your every heartbeat stuff, but this was too strong to deny. She'd done this to him, and dammit, she did it well!

"I bet she'll love it. She really likes you, and though she never answered my question directly..." Lindsay turned her head, flattening her eyes and brows and mumbling something under breath. She quickly turned back to him with bright eyes. "I think she's in love with you!"

"Well, we'll see." He rolled his eyes, though he quickly went to check his hair for the umpteenth time.

"Whoa, Mac, where ya headed in such a hurry?" Danny asked his blurry friend as he dashed by.

"Check something." Mac answered plainly.

"Alright, have fun." Danny mumbled, making his way to the ballroom. He opened the gold lined mahogany doors to reveal the showroom. Everything was ready for the party.

It was beautiful. Deep red velvet drapes were tied beside the large windows to let the moonlight in. The huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling left sparkles of refracted light everywhere. The buffet tables were all set up with rich smelling and looking foods, and the orchestra was practicing.

Danny made his way down the main staircase where the honored lords and ladies would be introduced from and stopped at the bottom for a moment, looking from the grandfather clocks on the other side of the large room beside the opposite balcony to the thrones below the balcony where Mac and his chosen lady-supposedly Stella-would sit at midnight.

Ah! That punch bowl! He moved to it as quickly but inconspicuously as he could. He took the tiny bottle of booze Angell had given him out of his inside jacket pocket and dumped it in. "Oops."

"What oops?"

"Ah-Lindsay!" Danny greeted, turning around to hide what he was doing. He was only supposed to put in a few drops; that's all it took to get the people in Hattanshire-ers drunk like sailors. "Just...bumped into the table is all."

"We ought to find you a new pair of glasses." She smiled.

"Yeah, but I don't know anyone else who wears them."

"So, excited?" Angell asked her friend happily.

"Yeah, a little nervous too." Stella admitted, looking down.

"Don't be! Mac can't wait to see you...even though he might not recognize you right away, which of coarse is the point." Angell babbled, losing the others completely.

"I'm not sure about this, Angell." She sighed, looking out the window and watching the shadowed trees pass by.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong hon?" She asked with worry, leaning forward and putting her hand on Stella's.

"I just...what if he _doesn't _love me?" She asked worriedly, clearly fretting over the fact yet to be established or denied.

"Of coarse he does! I've never seen anyone grow to love each other so fast!" Angell exclaimed happily.

"Well, goody for you." Stella murmured, pursing her pink glossed lips just so. She noticed the lights of the palace appear over a hill.

"There it is. Don't worry about anything, Stella. It'll all work out, just wait and see." Angell took the sunglasses from their perch in her curls and put them over her distinctive eyes as they neared the castle.

"I can hardly see anything out of these. What are they called?"

The palace was lit by warm fire glow and cool blue moonlight, giving the place a romantic aura. The white of the castle walls were tinged blue from the moon while the furnished brown of their doors had spots of orange shine from the candles and torches outside to guide the guests. The road coming up to the main doors circled around so the guests could get out and send their drivers on their way. The steps had a red carpet lain over them and the doors were held open by huge men.

"I told them to meet us inside." Angell said before turning to Hawkes. "Thanks buddy!"

"No prob." He smiled.

"Oh, did you bring them?"

"Yep, here you go." Hawkes handed her a pair of brand new glasses, magically guaranteed not to break.

"Thanks. Okay, come on, sweetie, let's go knock my brother on his ass." Angell laughed, opening the door.

Angell stepped out with ironically angelic grace. A white ball gown that tied behind her neck with black along the bottom hugged her figure well as she stepped onto the dirt in her white leather heels. After her came Flack, in his tuxedo and Kendall in a turquoise dress. "Come on, Stell. You're coming whether you like it or not."

"Angell." Stella groaned as her friend dragged her out by her wrists. When she finally did land on the dirt in her heels she tried to remain inconspicuous but a mysterious beauty with a dress like no other and some strange thing over her eyes is going to attract attention. Yay...

"Who's that?"

"I don't know."

"I've never seen her before."

Stella felt suddenly self conscious about the whispers being traded around her. She quickly clasped her hands together and kept her head down; a habit from Basil's Manor. "Angell, everyone's staring."

"That's a good thing!" She laughed as the group walked in. Inside the doors, Danny, Lindsay and Adam awaited them. "Hey guys!"

"That you, Angell?" Danny squinted, making out only vague colors and the figures of whom he thought were his friends.

"Yep, it's me, Dannyboy." She took out the glasses Hawkes had given her and slid them onto his face. "There y'are."

"Hallelujah! Thank you!" Danny cried, clenching his fists in the air and, finally having a reason for it, touched the bridge of his nose.

"You're welcome. Where's Mac?" Angell asked with a frown, hands on her hips. "Doesn't he know it's rude to make a lady wait?!"

"Last I saw him he was running off to check something." Danny shrugged. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Lindsay took his arm as he led her down the gargantuan staircase. Adam and Kendall went next.

"You coming?" Angell asked Stella.

"Give me a sec, I just want to look at the place." Stella excused herself, picking up the skirt of her gown and rushing down the hall that extended to the loft above and around the ball room.

"I'm gonna kill him." Angell scowled and shook her head.

"Who? Mac?" Flack blinked.

"Yeah! She came for him and now he's not even here!" She bellowed, making her tiara of angelic justice glow faintly with energy.

"There he is, over there, by the punch bowl. He looks a little...distracted." The closer they looked, the closer they could see he was swaying as he stood. "What the hell?"

"Messer!" Angell hissed, clenching her fist.

"What?"

"Nothing." She dismissed with a wave and a smile.

"Jess..." He warned.

"Danny and I put booze in the punch, but I think it might have been a bit too much." She admitted quietly as they made their down the stairs after their friends.

"Jess, that stuff is dangerous to these lightweights." Don scolded.

"It doesn't matter now, Don, they've already drank it." She said, looking at the people who were indeed..._tipsy_.

"Looks like Mac's already drank quite a bit."

Stella stood with her sunglasses on, sipping her punch. It was tangy, yes, but there was something else in it. It smelled funny, but she wasn't about to complain. She could feel her troubles lifting off her shoulders, not to mention her head. Her cheeks were flushed, and she could swear she was drinking...something. Just couldn't tell what.

Mac was leaning against the same table, on the opposite side, sipping his own punch and wondering where Stella was.

"And now Prince Mac must choose a lady to share the first dance with." A man announced over the ballroom.

He turned and found himself face to face with a beautiful mystery woman with some kind of glasses over her eyes. She had hair like fall leaves glossy with light autumn rain and skin like perfectly smooth sand. He could swear he recognized-even knew-her, but he couldn't be sure after the drinks of punch he had. "Excuse me, miss, but would you honor me with a dance?"

"Well, certainly, my lord." She her head without hesitation. Might as well wait for Mac and dance with this guy in the mean time. She couldn't see his face very well, but she had to keep the shades on. She blinked............Mac? Was she seeing things right? Geez...Mac?! "Mac?"

"Why yes, my name is Mac." He nodded, a half a sip away from slurring his words messily. He set his cup down, though, and took his mystery woman's hand in his. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. She had curls like a certain Greek he knew, but he couldn't see her eyes behind those dark glasses. He could guess it was the woman he was falling in love with but he hated to guess and be wrong, and he was in no proper mentality to say anything particularly intelligent. He'd had a few drinks of punch...okay, more than a few. "Yours?"

"Call me..." Stella paused. She didn't want to give herself away, but she had to give him something. A nickname from Saint Basil's occurred to her. They called her by it only when she was rooting around in the cinders of the fireplace for "evidence" of burned paper. She suspected the orphanage burned documents they didn't want the children to find, and she was always trying to prove it by taking cinders to Sid and testing to see if there was any trace of paper with ink on it. He had called it forensics, but she didn't think the long name for it would stick. Still, the name had stuck for a while. "Call me Cinderella."

"Hm...I've never heard that name before, but okay. Is it...German?" He asked dimly, starting to lead. Their steps were more graceful than their conversing as the symphony struck up a waltz.

"It's...Greek." She smiled, having a strange amount of fun playing with him. He was undeniably adorable when he let go of his mask, his wall, and let his wits drift about him a little looser than normal. Call her crazy, but she didn't think he got out and had fun all too often.

"Oh, I know someone who's Greek." He smiled fondly.

"Really?" She asked coyly.

"Yeah, her name's Stella. She's a beautiful, intelligent, kind woman. She and I met only a short while ago but..." He trailed off, either deep in though or crossing the line between buzzed and drunk.

"But?" She urged, excited about his praising words, which she knew were making her heart pound and her cheeks flush.

"But I think I'm falling in love with her. I haven't let myself love anyone like her since Claire, but I really love her, I know I do." He said more truthfully than a man in confession. He really was loose. He didn't know what exactly compelled him to admit such a thing to the stranger, but he tossed it up to the warmth in his head. "You have a very calming, truth evoking presence, Miss. I...are you sure I don't know you?"

"I wouldn't know." She shook her head, smiling.

"I just wish I could say something to her. I mean, I know I love her, but I can't seem to muster up the courage to tell her I even like her." He huffed, clearly unhappy with himself.

"Well, I bet she likes, maybe even loves you too." Stella laughed lightly. "You're sweet, handsome, kind, and you have this dark, mysterious, very...attractive quality."

"Well, thank you, but I don't think she'd love me. She's this amazing woman who's so out of my league I just..." He frowns.

"Well, I know she loves you too." She put her hand at the back of his head and brought her lips to his ear. He felt heat come to his cheeks as her breath swirled in his ear's bends. "S' agapw."

"I-" He knew it wasn't English. It was possibly Greek, but he couldn't be sure. He could just barely make out what it sounded like; S'agapo? What did that mean? "What?"

"I..." Stella looked at the clock, which said it was five minutes to midnight. "I have to go."

"What? No, please." He felt suddenly alarmed when she slipped out of his arms. He reached for her helplessly but she was already weaving her way through the crowd. "Wait! Please!"

"I have to go! I'm sorry."

"Stella?" Angell caught the faintest view of her friend fleeing the party in her emerald gown. "Stella!"

She didn't turn. She ran out the doors and went to the carriages. She found their little tomato with Hawkes petting Aiden and talking to her about how the sugar she liked so much was actually tiny crystals. "Hawkes! No time to explain. I need Aiden!"

"Okay..." He blinked, numbly handing her the reins and unhooking them. She thanked him and handed her the glass shoes.

"They'll only be a hindrance." She said over her shoulder as she mounted Aiden and took off, digging her heel into her side.

Aiden took off like a bolt of lightning, working her strong muscles to take her lady away as fast as her four legs could carry them. Stella was a good rider, sitting steady on Aiden as she ran over the path, making the distinct rapid clip-clop of hooves on dirt. She looked over her shoulder, back to the palace and at the cloud of dust behind them. The wind blew her hair wildly and stung her eyes.

"Stella!"

She turned to her right to see Angell, flying right beside her with a worried look on her face. Her chocolate tresses were blowing just as furiously, her bangs blowing up and every-which-way, showing her tiara. She saw Stella slow just the tiniest bit. "Angell..."

"What is it, honey?" Angell asked quietly, slowing her speed to match Stella and Aiden's gallop with a flap of her wings.

"I told him I love him, but..."

"You're still not sure if he loves you?" Angell frowned.

"He said he did, but I don't know if he knew what he was saying."

"He loves you Stella, I know he does, he just doesn't know if he's ready to love you." She shook her head. "After Claire..."

"He still loves her." Stella finished. "I can't ask him to love me if he's not ready. It wouldn't be fair to him."

"Give him time. I'm sure he'll come around."

"What if he doesn't? I can't just forget that I've fallen in love."

"You don't have to. Just let me talk to him."


	12. The Hunk is Drunk

The Hunk is Drunk and the Maiden's been Taken

"Mac, where are you going?" Angell asked him unhappily as she saw him walking out and managed to hold him by his jacket.

"To find...her." He said as he tried to squiggle out of Angell's iron grasp. "Cinderella."

"Why do you want to find her so bad?" She asked smartly.

"I..."

"I thought you loved Stella." Angell said in a dangerous growl.

"I do-I do! I just..." He frowned to himself, apparently not even able to think of an acceptable excuse to himself. "I feel I owe her..."

"Owe her what, Mac, a lock on the lips?!" Angell snarled, spinning him around and grabbing his collar. "Mac, you're here for Stella! Dammit, little brother, get your head in the game!"

"Is that a song?" He squinted.

"No!" She belted in his ear. "You are coming with me to find Stella-"

"But-"

"No buts!" Angell dragged him outside and to the garden. She sat him down on a bench beside the carp pond with a huff and crossed her arms expectantly.

"I swear to drunk I'm not god." He said with a finger pointed in the air for emphasis. "Wait..."

"Mac." Angell grabbed a carp out of the pond and promptly hit him across the face with it. After the impact it was flailing even more than before, thoroughly shocked with the sudden impact of its slimy body against Mac's face. It gasped for...water...and tried to free itself from Angell's grasp. "Are you any better now?"

"Angell, I'm not drunk, so just take me tired, I'm home."

She looked at him with a disappointed look and flattened eyes. She hit him a few more times before finally letting the poor fish back in the water. "Are you sane now?"

"Mm...I think so." He mumbled, scrubbing the smell of fish off his face. He shook his head sharply and looked up. "Where is she?"

"Come on."

"Oh Aiden, you're so lucky. You don't have to deal with this kind of thing." Stella shook her head as she patted Aiden's nose. "I hate love. It's stupid-why does anyone need it anyway?"

Aiden couldn't respond though, only whinny and bow her head slightly to show her understanding.

"Oh, you're right, I shouldn't be whining to you about it." Stella sighed and stopped for a moment. "I just don't know what to do, girl. I never thought I'd love anyone other than Dr. Sid and I guess I thought I loved Frankie but obviously that was a mistake."

Aiden nuzzled Stella's face tenderly in agreement.

"Mac is different, though. He's kind and sweet, and he really cares about people. I've only known him for a short time but I trust him. I know he would never hurt me and that he'd always be there for me no matter what." Stella continued, letting her gaze drift up to the stars. "You know, Aiden, it's a hard life with love in the world."

Aiden stood, this time. Her deep brown eyes were focused on the dark woods behind them and the river bank they'd found to rest on. The trees closest to them were lit by the moonlight; beyond them, though, was pitch black. Her shorter hairs were standing on end and, call it her animal sense, but she had a bad feeling. She turned and nudged Stella's shoulder, hoping to warn her of the impending danger.

"Hm? What's wrong, Aiden?" Stella asked with puzzlement. Aiden was acting fraught; strange for the strong horse. She was as calm and collected as a horse could really be, so seeing her so distraught was fittingly alarming. "Aiden?"

A wind came down and began to rustle the grass violently. The sharp hissing of the grass and leaves drowned out any other noise that could've alerted them to what was about to come.

Stella's hands jumped to the hand that swooped from behind her and clamped her mouth shut. She growled, trying to break free of the hand and arm that took her captive. She fought as much as she could but something drifted into her mouth and nose, making her drowsy. The inferno temper subsided and she was able to make one faint sound before going under completely.

_Mac_

"Where is she?" Mac asked loudly, holding his hands out and turning around in circles. "I thought you said she was here."

"She was!" Angell rebutted, though her raised voice did little to mask her worry. "Where the hell would she go?"

"Maybe she went home?" He suggested sarcastically.

"Hm, I don't see Aiden." Angell frowned, turning and looking just as he was.

_Fwump!_

Angell turned sharply to see Mac on the ground and Aiden standing behind him unhappily. She could see that Aiden had run up from behind him and head-butted him in the back. Swallowing her desire to laugh, she went and helped him up. "Lying down on the job?"

"Don't even." He grumbled, wiping the dirt from his face. He turned to Aiden to glare at her, though looking at the space between her eyes was less dramatic than he might have liked. "What was that for?"

Aiden twitched her left ear and brought her nose up quickly to snap him in the jaw. She glared at him angrily and huffed through her nostrils. She paced to the left, then the right, and whipped her tail about.

"Um, I don't speak horse." Mac dead panned to all three of them.

"I know someone who might!" Angell exclaimed.

"Who?" Mac frowned.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawkesssssssssssssssssssss!"

Mac cracked his jaw, popping his permanently damaged ears. He looked at her strangely but dared not say anything. Not only would that provoke her to do unpleasant things to him-such as shout again-but it would also hurt his ears further. What surprised him more was that Hawkes actually appeared a moment later, in a puff of smoke. "Oh."

"What's going on, Angell?" The dark skinned man asked, adjusting his glasses. He was still wearing his white suit and top hat.

"Well, we need to hear what Aiden's saying." She answered.

"Okay." He nodded. He went over to her, basically ignoring Mac, and patted her nose. "Hello, my new equine friend. What's wrong?"

Angell looked at them seriously, waiting to hear what had happened to her friend with her arms crossed and her brows knitted.

Mac quirked an eyebrow, less than faithful in the method of interrogation, but Aiden was even more dangerous than Angell.

"She said Stella was kidnaped."


	13. Snow Day: The Losing

Snow Day: The Losing

"What?!" Mac snarled, grabbing Hawkes by his collar threateningly. "If you're messing with me you'll regret it."

"I'm not. Aiden said she and Stella were talking when three people came out of the forest and took her." Hawkes responded calmly. He gently lowered the older man's hands from his throat. "Would you believe it if she told you herself?"

Mac held only a blank stare and a tiny frown. Hawkes chuckled and took out his scalpel/wand. He tapped Aiden on the head and stepped back, signaling Mac to approach her. "Aiden?"

"_You dumb-ass!!"_

Mac blinked. Had Aiden just yelled at him without even opening her mouth? How was that even possible? "Excuse me?"

"_You're the jerk that's causin' her all these problems! She thinks she's in love with you and now she's been taken, and what're you doin'?! Sittin' on your drunken ass back at your fancy castle surrounded by flousies!" _

Mac stifled a protest in realizing the horse was in fact very right. Her voice was strong and sharp, and even had an accent like Danny's.

"_If anything happens to her I'll kick you so hard your head'll snap off like a dandelion's."_

"Okay, come on." He nodded seriously. "May I...?"

"_Ugh...I guess so." _She rolled her eyes, and head, but turned to let him onto her back nonetheless. He got on easily but made her shift a little. _"God, you're so much heavier than Stella! Carrying her's like nothin', carryin' you's like...a barrel."_

"Angell, go back to the palace and tell Danny, Lindsay and Adam to stay there." Mac directed, ignoring Aiden's remark and taking her reins.

"I'll be back." Jess nodded before taking off. With one strong flap of her winds she took off, leaving a strong wind in her wake that rustled the leaves and grass again.

"Aiden are you sure that's where they took her?" Mac frowned.

"_I'm damn sure!"_

"Alright. Hawkes, go ahead and see if she's alright, we'll meet you there." Mac ordered.

"Yes, sir." Hawkes nodded before snapping his fingers and vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Alright, Aiden, let's go get our girl."

Stella was woken by a bucket, slipping off the shelf above her and falling onto her head with a solid clang. It hurt her head less than her ears as the sound continued to echo in her mind. "Hello?"

"She's awake." A (unfortunately) familiar voice said.

"Peyton?" Stella called, still a bit stunned.

"What?!" She snapped back, her British accent as thick as ever.

"Gee, I was just wondering why I seem to be locked in a small basement, but sorry to bug you!" Stella snapped back, slamming her hand on the door.

"You're in a basement, under the trap door, in St. Basil's."

"The secret door in the hall, or in my room?" Stella growled.

"We need you out of the way." A new voice said icily.

"Who are you?" Stella asked.

"I'm Gillian, and I'm here to make sure you do not ever see Mac Taylor ever again."

"And...why?" Stella continued.

"Because you and he are worse for each other than a duck and...something that eats a duck."

"What an analogy...and why are you judging my love life anyway?"

"Miss Peyton and Miss Quinn told me how you muscled your way between them and Prince Mac. They hired me to keep you out of the picture a least until everyone forgets you and won't notice you're gone."

"Peyton and Quinn?! You know they're absolute bitches right?"

"Hey! We're still here!" They both shouted.

"Yeah, I know." Stella snickered to herself. "People are going to notice I'm gone! My friends, for instance. Mac will notice too!"

"Not if he's preoccupied."

"Preoccupied with what?" Stella asked suspiciously, feeling the heat of jealousy bubble through her. She could see all those bimbos from the ball grabbing his arms-and it made her furious!

"One Miss Jordan Gates."

Mac's mind wasn't focused on the trees that raced past his vision as he sped down the wide path on Aiden's back. He wasn't concentrating on the steady thump of her hooves on the solid earth below. He was only thinking of Stella.

"_Hey, what's-yer-name."_

"Mac, thank you, and what?" He murmured.

"_If they're planning to hide her at St. Basil's why would they take her tonight, and how did they know where she was?"_

"Your guess is as good as mine, really. I guess they knew somehow she was going." He said with his eyes still trained on the road ahead. Coming out of the forest he could see the large stone mansion come over a hill. "Who are these people and why would they take Stella?"

"_Your guess is as good as mine. When I find them I'm gonna do such screwed up things to them!"_

"Easy girl, let's just find them first."

"Who the hell is Jordan Gates?!" Stella shouted.

"She's from Manhattan, like me." Gillian said. "She likes him."

"Of coarse. Everyone likes Mac." Stella grumbled unhappily, still angry and a tad jealous. Granted she couldn't blame them, but that was completely beside the point! "Though obviously he doesn't like her!"

"He will. He liked you as the mysterious Cinderella, didn't he? I saw him follow you, or her, out. It would seem he's less faithful to you than you think." Gillian taunted Stella, shamelessly bending things to her will. She was being paid, and a small part of her liked him too. Damn that man was popular!

"Oh just shut up and go back to my witch-step-sisters." Stella huffed, crossing her arms.

"Oh, someone's jealous that the man thought to love her is off surrounded by beautiful women and enjoying himself."

"Shut up!" Stella snarled at Gillian vehemently. Yes, she was jealous, no, she didn't want to listen to her, but what bothered her most was... her own doubt. She and Mac had been walking on eggshells in terms of their relationship, and how it was on the fine line of true friends and soul mates. So far, it'd had perfect balance, but now, it was shaking because she was shaking. How could she be sure of anything anymore?

"I've got somewhere I need to be." Gillian's words smirked.

"Oh, not you too!" Stella

"Which reminds me, Jane Parsons, Ella McBride, your stepsisters; every woman at that ball is after him...possibly some men too, now that I think about it."

"_I'll bet you a year's worth of sugar cubes right now that Peyton and Quinn are behind this." _

"I know, I can't think of anyone besides them, but how would they do it? I met Quinn and Peyton briefly, once, and they...well, they weren't the brightest fireflies." He murmured.

"_You got that right. Which reminds me, when we find Stell, you and I need to have a talk about you keepin' her happy. I know she really likes you, but I feel it only fair to tell you that if you ever do anything to upset her I'll head butt you so hard your brain'll pop out the other end."_

"Duly noted." He smirked wryly. Aiden stormed down the path and rammed the doors head first. She skidded to a stop on the marble floor that was now scratched and chipped irreparably. Luckily, no one was there. "Alright, where you could you hide a grown woman in here?"

"_I don't know. Better start looking." _

"I'll go this way." Mac pointed. Aiden simply nodded and headed in the other direction.

"Angell, what's going on?" Lindsay asked, seeing her new magical friend come in for a landing on the stoop of the palace.

"Lindsay, get inside!" Angell said quickly, sweeping her friend in by the shoulders. Once inside she continued to guide her younger friend by the shoulders, deeper and deeper into the palace until they came to the main inner corridor, leading to his office, Claire's room, the Royal Staff's wing, and back the way they came, from the ballroom.

"Angell, what's wrong?" Lindsay asked worriedly.

"I saw some group of weirdos headed this way. They're in a car, heading here, and I saw them with guns." Angell breathed, checking around her suspiciously.

"Guns?" Lindsay asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, I don't have time to explain. Here." Angell pulled something out of a black leather holder on her hip. It was dark, made of metal, made clinks and clacks as it moved and was rather scary looking to Linds. "This is a glock. I get it because I'm a guardian angel. Flack has one too, because he's a police officer."

"So what should we do?" Lindsay asked seriously.

"I need you to get all of the guests out of here. I'll keep them outside for as long as I can. Get whoever you can and hide somewhere safe." The two friends nodded and split up, Lindsay, dashing back to the ballroom and Angell, jumping out of the window.

Lindsay tried to remain calm but she'd never really been in such a situation. Nothing so dangerous. '_Calm down Lindsay, you have a job to do; protect these people! Be strong, Cowgirl, for Danny!_'

Angell slipped out to the front courtyard, her gun at the ready, listening to her heels on the lush grass below her quick steps. '_Dammit. What the hell are they trying to pull?! If only I'd stayed with Stell..._'

'_Damn._'

"Excuse me! May I have everyone's attention please?!" Lindsay called from atop the stair case, though she didn't receive what she was looking for. Irately, she tried a different approach. "Heeeeey!!"

Everyone looked up.

"You don't have to go home, but you gotta get your drunk asses up outta here, so move it!" She roared, leaning over the railing and pointing to the large front doors. "Now people-now! Move it!"

Grumbles and drunken sputters were heard throughout the room as those who could walk made their way out and those who couldn't were dragged out. Lindsay watched them go with a serious frown, running to the main doors and pushing them closed after they'd filtered out. It took a bit of effort, but with good ol' determination and a sweet tackle, she got them closed.

"Whoa! What do they feed you at Montana Ranch?"

"Danny!" Lindsay spun on her heel-literally-and let relief wash over her face. She rushed up to him, putting a hand on his arm. "Danny, something's wrong. Angell told me there's a group of people coming with...guns."

"A what-now?" He squinted.

"Never mind, the point is we're in danger. Angell's gone to check it out. Until then I've evacuated the guests but we should go somewhere safe." She explained.

"Danny! Lindsay! What's going on?!" Adam called, running to them from the other end of the hall.

"Come on!" Lindsay pulled Danny behind her by the hand and ran towards Adam. She whizzed past him, barely grabbing a hold of his shirt collar as they kept running. "Adam! This way!"

"O-okay, but what's happening? Everyone's gone!" He stuttered.

"Some women are coming to the palace." She said breathlessly.

"So then...why are we running away?" He blinked.

"Angell said they had guns." She turned slightly before looking ahead again just in time to round the corner on a dime. She skidded around, using all of her agility to regain her footing on her heel sandals. Danny slipped behind her though was somehow pulled along by her surprisingly strong grip. Adam, held captive in her other hand, was hop-skipping after them.

"Guns?!" Adam asked worriedly. "Oh-no! No, no, no, this is bad!""Guns, bad. Got it."

"Flack!" Angell noticed a charcoal black goat come trotting through the woods. It trotted through, shaking the twigs out of his fuzz to come to her side. Smoke erupted from under his hooves, masking him for a moment before Flack emerged. She smiled.

"Hey, I needed some air." He smiled warmly at her. He saw her piece in her hands and drew his own. "What's going on?"

"Long story short; Stella's been kidnaped, Aiden, Mac and Hawkes are going after her, Lindsay, Danny and Adam are inside, and you and I have a job to do." She said seriously, but with determination.

"That was short?" He joked, pulling the clip.

"I saw a group of people in a car. They're all definitely from Manhattan. I recognized Jordan Gates and Gillian Whitford from our sector. They're leading the little gang, and I also saw Drew Bedford, Brenden Walsh, Sebastian Diakos and George Kolovos, all with nine mils." Angell said in a hushed tone, watching the last few people vacate the palace grounds. "No doubt they're here to kill."

"Who?"


	14. Snow Day: The Finding

Snow Day: The Finding

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer." Stella sang quietly to herself, sitting against the wall with her arms around her knees and twiddling her thumbs. "Take one down, hit someone with it, ninety-eight and a half bottles of beer on the wall."

Oh for the love of God.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooored.

"What to do?" She asked herself rhetorically. She looked behind her and up at the dirt covered stone wall. The basement was fairly small, and she could literally fill all four tiny walls with her life story-that's it!

"I...Stella...Bona...sera...being of...sound mind...and...no life..." She paused for a second, blinking at her introduction. She looked at her hand. "You may wonder how I'm writing this; I found a spoon."

"Hello?" Mac called, though the only reply he got was his echo. "Is anybody here?! I need help!"

He continued down the hall until it took a right, so he turned and trudged on. His black shoes made a soft padding on the floor, and he could hear the faint _clip-clop_ of Aiden's hooves quickly fading in the distance.

"Hello! Is anyone here?"

"_Hello? Helloooo!" _

Aiden clopped along with her hooves making more noise than she might have liked. Her larger body-that of a horse-filled most of the small hallway, forcing her to be mindful of the breakable flower vases.

"_Hey! I...wait a minute...no one can understand me but Mac!" _

The sound of careful steps down the hall made her jump. Her tail knocked one of the vases over, scaring her more, and making her panic. She began to turn herself around awkwardly, but she was too long to turn around properly, so she ended up banging her head against the wall.

"_Dammit!" _

"Dammit!" Mac heard from down the hall after the crash of glass. He recognized the voice as Aiden's, but the breaking glass made him worried. "Stupid vase!"

"Aiden!" He shouted, running to her. He rounded another sharp corner only to slam into Aiden's large backside. She jumped onto her hind legs and kicked her front ones.

Snap!

"Hour two; I have come to the conclusion that since I have no possessions, I wish for this to be preserved as the last remainder of myself in the living world. When I become a guardian angel like Miss Jessica Angell perhaps I'll get the opportunity to visit my loved ones here again." She paused. "Also that, for the record, I am indeed dying alone, so to Miss Lindsay Monroe; you owe my grave ten Manhattan dollars..."

She thought for a moment, then figured that if this really was her last message to the living, why not just spill the sweet-beans? "And to Mac Taylor; I love-"

Snap!

"What the-?!"

Stella jumped a mile off the ground as the ceiling a few feet from her collapsed onto the floor, leaving a hole the size of a horse.

As a matter of fact, a horse's legs kicked out as it tried to roll off its back amongst the rubble. It wasn't having any luck, though, as it simply flopped and thumped around like a fish out of water.

A head of lustrous brown popped up from under a few rotten floor/ceiling boards. It shook the dust from the short style and twisted around. "Stella?"

"Mac?!" Stella gaped. It's raining Marines! "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Apparently that floor wasn't meant to hold the weight of a horse and a soldier." He commented absently as he got up and brushed the grime off his suit. He flicked a chunk off his coat as he rushed towards her. He took only a minute to look into her surprised but elated eyes then proceeded to sweep her into a crushing embrace. His arms held her close to him firmly while she blinked in surprise albeit bliss, wrapping her arms around his strong frame. Then, in her mind, he released her just as fast as he'd gone in for the hug. He felt as though it was an eternity, though. "God, are you okay?"

"Yeah-yeah, I'm fine. Bored out of my mind but-"

"What's going on?" He asked her worriedly.

"Peyton and Quinn are keeping me here so I can't interfere with them trying to make you theirs anymore-wait, if you're here, what is Jordan Gates doing?"

"Who?"

"Good evening Jordan, how can we help you?" Flack and Angell smiled politely, jumping out from their bush, guns in their holsters. They'd seen the rest of the entourage go around to the back.

"Hi Flack. Hi Angell. I'm looking for Prince Mac Taylor." She began in a no-nonsense tone as always.

"Well, I'm afraid he's not here right now, but if you would like to, please leave a message after the beep; BEEP!" Don smirked.

Jordan simply looked outraged, her cheeks flushing and her blond hair standing on end. "You have some nerve Donald Flack!"

"No, you do, Jordan. What do you want here, ah?" Angell asked shortly, cutting to the point as always.

"I'm here to see Mac." Jordan repeated, letting her weight shift to her right hip. "Where is he?"

"Not here." Angell raised an eyebrow and smirked slowly. "And not in your uptight ass, either, much to your chagrin, I'm sure."

"I could have you fired, Angell." Jordan pointed threateningly.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't. Besides I'm a guardian angel, bound to Mac. I couldn't leave if I wanted to." She shrugged.

"You can go and look for him inside if you want." Flack held his hand out, ignoring Angell's dumbfounded look.

"Thank you Flack, I think I will." She nodded, glaring at Angell. She walked in, her silent entourage behind her.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed, spinning on her heel.

"I'm going teach our new friends a lesson." He smirked, closing the door behind Jordan's associates and pulling out his cell phone. "Hey, Adam? Yeah...they're headed in now...no, just do as I say, now..."

"They planned to distract me from you with a legion of blond haired women?" Mac squinched.

"Well, a few of them might be brunette, and Quinn and Peyton...well they're blond on the inside." Stella shook her head. She tapped her temple in frustration trying not to let her raging jealousy show.

"Stell? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"What? Nothing!" She protested, waving her hands madly.

"No, what's wrong?" He persisted.

"I said nothing! Nothing is wrong! Nothing at all!" She blustered, feeling her cheeks heat in embarrassment.

"No...are you jealous?" Mac asked incredulously.

"What-nooooo!" She objected loudly.

"You are! You're jealous!" He pointed, saying it louder and a little more joyous than he'd planned. He didn't want to make it sound like he was happy about it, but the thought that he'd made a woman as beautiful as her jealous over him. "You're jealous over me?!"

"No! No-I'm not!!" She cried, her cheeks turning a deep red.

"You're jealous! You're-ow!"

"_That oughtta shut you up." _Aiden smirked as she looked down at Mac after she'd head butted him in the back again.

"Aiden?" Stella blinked.

"_Oh my God, Stell, don't worry me like that honey! I missed you, girl!" _Aiden whinnied, nuzzling Stella affectionately. _"Your boyfriend is weird, you know that, sweet'art?"_

"Oh, I missed you, girl." She laughed lightheartedly. "Where were you, Aid? I was worried about you, my ol' equine friend?"

"_Carryin' this lazy sonofabatchofcookies." _Aiden rolled her eyes.

"Um...could I get a hand?" Mac's muffled voice came where he lay on the floor.

"Oh, here." Stella took his hand and helped him up easily, not letting go of his hand even after he was up.

"Thanks, Stella." He smiled gently at her. She smiled back just as softly and looked up at him shyly. He tried not to blurt aloud just how gorgeously striking she was to him that moment. It took all his willpower not to, so he did something else.

He kissed her.

"Hello, how may I help you?" Lindsay asked cheerily.

"Um...I'm looking for Prince Mac." Jordan said flatly.

"Oh, please, come with me." She smiled falsely. She began down the hallway gracefully, with a bounce in her step and fake smile as wide as possible. "You've come at a great time, we don't know where he is."

"Yes, your little friends outside told me." Jordan said with a dismissive tone, looking about her.

"You know what you need? You need a coffee." Lindsay beamed for real, this time.

"I..." Jordan frowned at the bubbly young woman but felt her innocent smile warm her heart like nothing ever really did. She wasn't a heartless woman, no, just a broken hearted woman with a murderous ex-husband. "Alright, but I must speak with the prince right away."

"Yes, yes, after coffee!" Lindsay turned to hide her evil grin.

Opening the large double doors to the parlor, Lindsay and Jordan stepped in with their heels clacking out of sync. Lindsay brought over a silver tray with two china cups and everything needed for nice coffee. She put one cup at her place carefully, minding the tea that was already in it, and then the empty one at Jordan's place. She poured to brown liquid into the cup and pushed it toward the older woman gently. She put the pot back away for fear of Jordan smelling the entire bottle of whiskey she'd put in.

"Thank you." Jordan mumbled. "So, where is Mac?"

"Oh, probably out...frolicking..." Lindsay turned and chided herself in her head. "You suck at lying-come on, Monroe!"

"Frolicking?" Jordan blinked.

"Did I say frolicking? I meant...lollygagging." She covered, though it wasn't much better to her if she said so herself. "Lollygagging about."

"Really?" Jordan quirked a finely waxed eyebrow in doubt.

"Oh yes, he's horrible with dawdling...just...always being slowed down...by...uh..." Lindsay blinked a few times, not knowing exactly what to say. "Bandits...and anteaters...and...such."

"Bandits and anteaters? Really?" The blond woman looked very unamused with the young woman.

"Um, yes-anyway!" Lindsay started up again. "How's the coffee?"

"Oh, it's different. Is there...liquor in this?" Jordan asked unsurely, sniffing her coffee.

"Oh, no, it's an old recipe from my friend. He's Irish, so it's a special blend." Lindsay laughed nervously. Finally, a lie she could pull-off.

"Oh, you know I've actually had Irish coffee before, but this is different." She frowned, though took another sip. Her cheeks were already beginning to flush and she seemed much more relaxed.

"Yeah, so, what do you think of Mac?" Lindsay asked _subtly_.

"Oh, I think he's just...mmmmmmac." The older blond rolled her eyes and let a sloppy smile overtake her sharply featured face. "He is a handsome one, and my employers would really like to see him."

"Your employers?" Lindsay pried just as subtly, leaning forward.

"Yeah, the stiffs I work for. Two absolute ditzes who want to have Mac all for themselves. Of coarse he's already taken by that woman Star?"

"Stella."

"What?"

"Nothing." Lindsay covered quickly.

"Right, well, he's already fallen for some other woman, their stepsister or something, but they're too stupid to recognize that, so they hired me." Jordan continued, tongue becoming looser by the passing second. "My exhusband hired someone to kill me, so I went into the contract business myself."

"Oh, I see, so what exactly were you and your group sent here to do?" She continued.

"Quinn and Peyton hired Gillian Whitford, Drew Bedford, Brendon Walsh, Sebastian Diakos, George Kolovos and I to get that Stir...Star...Stear...Stell...Stella! Stella-that's it! They hired me to get her out of the way so they could get to him."

"I see, will you excuse me?" Lindsay got up and rushed off.

"Hey! I'm gonna have s'more of this!"

"Good evening, gentlemen." Danny greeted with a smirk.

"Where's Mac Taylor?" One man, Drew Bedford, asked.

"Not 'ere." Danny shook his head.

"Stella Bonasera." A man with an accent, Sebastian Diakos, spoke up, a smile on his thin lips and an evil glint in his eyes.

"Left the country." Danny shrugged, letting his smirk grow into a grin. "Now, may I ask why you're crushing my crocuses?"

"We need to talk to them both." Said the woman.

"And you are...?"

"Gillian Whitford." She nodded curtly.

"I see, now, if you come in peace why do you all have guns?"


	15. Snow Day: The Danger

Hostage: The Danger

Stella blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Oh...that's nice.

She leaned into the kiss and let Mac massage her lips with his own, reveling in the feeling of warmth that spread through her. The wave of love that hit her was like her own personal tsunami. It felt so good when he grabbed a fistful of her curls and brought her body closer to his. Amazing. Super Amazing! Amazper!!

"_Alright, alright, break it up you two!" _

Stella broke away first and smoothed out her hair, cheeks flushed and breathing heavy. "Well, that was nice."

Mac looked at her with wide eyes and a slightly worried expression. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Hey, I said it was nice." She cut him off, trying not to smile.

"_If you two are done, can we get outta 'ere? It's startin' ta smell like fish and sexual tension." _

"Right, okay, what should we do?"

Hawkes looked around him in wonder. He was in some kind of basement at St. Basil's Manor, but it certainly wasn't being used for normal purposes.

Jars of formaldehyde and other indistinguishable things lined the dusty shelves on each of the small four walls. Dust and dirt caked the crags between the rocks and mortar, covered in cobwebs. The shadows which were shaped by the odd lines in the stone gave the place an eerie feeling over the creepy look.

"Can I help you?"

"Hello?" Hawkes whipped around, trying not to seem jumpy. He wasn't totally defenseless, but he wasn't used to such a situation either.

"Down here, friend." A kind, elderly voice said with a chuckle.

"Hm?" Hawkes looked down at a green frog sitting contentedly on the floor with a strangely proud air around his little body.

"I'm Dr. Sid, the father of this manor. Hello." The frog spoke kindly, his mouth moving up and down though the sounds and words were clearly not coming from the voice box of a normal frog. Come to think of it-normal frogs didn't wear tiny glasses and navy blue shirts, either. He was fair sized-okay, he was pretty big. Sitting like a normal frog, he was probably the size of a Chihuahua. Standing-yes, he stood-he was probably Kermit the Frog sized. "You're...Sheldon Hawkes."

"Yes, how did you-"

"That pot up there." Sid pointed to a small cauldron sitting atop a stainless steel island in the middle of the small room. "I use it to see things. I know you're from Manhattan, and I know you know Stella."

"You know Stella?" Hawkes blinked, crouching to look at Sid the Frog eye-to-buggy-eye.

"Oh, how could anyone forget Stella? She lived here at the Manor for a while and I was very fond of that little girl." Sid smiled wistfully.

"Well, then, if you know I know Stella, then you must also know that she was kidnaped and brought here." Hawkes said in his Doctor voice, explaining it with a gentle tone. He didn't want to upset the potentially dangerous frog/man.

"Yes, I know, and when I find the bastard who did it I'm going to turn them into the ugliest lump of goal there ever was." Sid said firmly.

"Well, we're all here to find her, and could really use your help." The dark skinned man smiled.

"Yes, you and that Mac Taylor." Sid squinted skeptically. "I saw what those two were doing up on the roof."

"Roof?"

"Never mind." He shook his green head. "Where are they?"

"That's what I need your help with."

"Sir, can you please identify yourself?" Danny asked, pushing his new glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I'm Sebastian Diakos, and I've come to take Stella back to our home." He smiled a toothy, creepy smile.

"Home?! Who are you, her creepy estranged cousin?" Danny quirked an eyebrow.

"Just tell us where they are." Kolovos cut in, pulling out a nine mil and pointing it at an unfazed Danny.

"Oh, what a nice...shiny...gun." Danny lifted his hand and pointed the barrel away from him casually. "Look, my heavily accented friend, either you carry on your foreign way or I'll have to make you go."

"Yeah, right." Diakos scoffed.

"Yes, because I have the ability of magic on my side; that, and I challenge you to a game of hide and seek-one-two-three-GO!!" Danny shouted before dashing away with speed that would put the Flackmobile to shame. He dashed through the doors and rounded a sharp corner, pulling out the cell phone Adam had given him and pressed the only button of which he knew the function. "Lindsay?"

"Danny, that you? Listen, Jordan is officially too drunk to walk a straight line, and she told me that Peyton and Quinn wanted to get rid of Stella."

"Yeah, no surprise there." Danny murmured as he turned left. "I'm runnin' from the rest o' their li'l posse as we speak, so you and Adam gotta start workin' your magic."

"Okay...be careful."

"I'm always careful, sweet'art." Danny smiled warmly.

"Like the time you thought you could be a bullfighter and it-"

"Okay-that's not the point! Just be ready."

"And it's a horse, you know? It-it's a-it's a horse." Jordan fumbled for words while shaking the empty coffee pot for just the tiniest drop. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and one could easily see it took effort to even keep her eyes straight ahead. "They named a damn horse after me. Gillian knows their mum and convict-con-convinced them to name the damn cat...bird...dog...chariot...boat...horse-horse!-after me."

She got no response from the plant Lindsay had set on the chair.

"You're awfully quiet." She huffed, looking offended and half-asleep. She let the pot drop out of her limp hand and groaned. "What does that rat's-ass-Mac even want in a woman? And of all the women that like him why the hell does he like Star-Aster-Astel-Estelle-Estella-Stella-STELLA!? What does she have that-that I don't got?!"

The plant simply remained silent.

"Oh, a wise-acker, eh? I will have none of that, sir. You're firrrrrrrred." She slurred, banging her head on the table in the process.

The plant fell over.

"Dammiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

Mac, Stella and Aiden watched as a mass of black, white and brown slid past their hallway on the marble. The ball of color continued to slide and roll until it met the wall with a loud thud. "Was that...?"

"Angell?" Stella poked her head out to see her friend crumpled by the wall and rubbing her head. "Sweetie? You okay?"

"Oh, Stella, thank God you're alright." The two hugged tightly and smiled at each other. "I'm so sorry, I never should have left."

"It's not your fault, Jess." Stella said comfortingly. "And how did you slide in here anyway?"

"Well, I was coming in for my normal landing, and I slipped on the marble." She laughed embarrassedly.

"Alright, well, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Flack and Lindsay and Danny and Adam?"

"That's just the thing; your stepsisters have also sent some people to the palace. With guns." Angell cringed.

"What the hell's a gun?" Stella dead panned.

"It's like a small canon you can hold in your hand." Said Jess.

"No one uses canons except pirates." Mac frowned.

"Doesn't matter, we have company. A group of people from Manhattan showed up shortly after you both left and they all have guns. Flack stayed with Danny, Lindsay, and Adam, who are still with Diakos, Kolovos and Gillian. Bedford and Walsh are headed here, though, so we have to get out of here!" Angell said all in one breath, pushing them toward the door. She grasped the large knocking ring and opened it.

"Angell!"

"Bedford...Bedford!" Angell's eyes popped out of her head. She slammed the door in the equally surprised man's face and grabbed her friend's hands. "DamndamndamnDAMN!"

"_Might as well go with, I s'pose." _Aiden started after them trotting lightly to keep up.

"Angell, who was that?" Stella said calmly as she was being dragged.

"He's Drew Bedford. Frankly, he's going to kill us all." They all came to a halt as they came to the end of the hallway where it diverged. Angell let go of Mac's hand but kept Stella close. "Mac, Aiden, you go that way. Stell, come with me."

"But-" Mac was too late; Angell and Stella were already running down the other hallway. He reluctantly tore his gaze away from the woman he loved-and his sister-and continued running, Aiden right beside him.

"_I don't like it, either, but all we can do right now is-"_

"Taylor!"

Bullets whizzed by Mac and Aiden's heads as they just focused on running away. Turning on a dime more times than they could count the footsteps behind them never were far behind them.

Drew Bedford chased after the man and the horse relentlessly. "Damn you!"

"You don't even know me!" Mac shot back angrily.

"Damn you to hell!" He shouted again, taking more shots.

"_You just make friends wherever you go, dontcha?" _Aiden scoffed.

"They're not usually this hostile."

"Stella, come on!" Angell looked over her shoulder and tried not to trip, but her entrance had shaken her and she was a little unsure.

"He's still chasing us." She commented absently, seeing Walsh coming up behind them quickly. "Not that this matters, but he's just a little bit cute."

"Stella!"

"Right, in love with your brother, sorry." She sighed. "Stella..."

"Gimme your frying pan!" Angell whirled around and stopped as soon as they rounded another corner, ducking into a side hallway.

"What?"

"I know you have it. Flack told me you always have one with you." She said tiredly, twirling her hand in the air. "Now, give it."

"Okay, here." Stella handed her a dark iron frying pan with a small pout. "What're you gonna do with it?"

"You'll see." Angell turned around and held it out in her hand.

Wham!

The two women looked down to see the fireman face down on the ground and out cold. His forehead was bleeding ever so slightly from both the impact of the pan and the floor. His finger twitched once before it finally looked like he would never wake up again.

"Wow, I'm glad I gave it to you." Stella shrugged.

"I am too. By the way; where do you keep these things?"

"Not important. Let's go!" Stella headed down the side hallway and opened the door see Hawkes and perhaps Kermit the Frog.

"Stella?" The frog asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Not easy being green, huh?"

"Jordan, come on!" Gillian tried to pry the hammered woman out of the chair. She was surprisingly heavy-or maybe she was just weak- and trying to pick her up under the arms while she was conducting Camp Town Ladies in her head didn't help.

"Doo-da! Doo-da!" She laughed airily.

"Dammit woman, pull yourself together!" Gillian barked loudly.

"Oh-de-doo-da-day!"

"For the love of God!" Gillian huffed and dropped her blond friend on the floor. She was beyond frustrated. She had people to assassinate! "Come on, Jordan! Get your hammered ass out of that damn chair!"

Jordan gasped in horror and pointed at Gillian like she was a ghost come straight from hell for her. "You said a mean word!"

"Oh. My. God." Gillian left her there and left the room in anger. Leave it to Jordan to leave her with the responsibility.

"Excuse me, Gillian." Lindsay approached the woman cautiously, her head ducked slightly. She stopped in front of her and pulled out a frying pan from behind her back, hitting her square in the face. "Boom!"

Gillian lay out cold on the floor with Jordan, who was sleeping.

"Hey, Montana!"

"Not you too." Lindsay frowned at Flack as he waved the smoke away from his face.

"What? You don't like it?" He smirked.

"You know I don't, now what's up? Where are Adam and Danny?" Lindsay frowned, worried for her friends.

"They're with Kolovos and Diakos. Wrapping things up."

"There we are." Adam smiled proudly at his work; tying up two strong Greek men was something he'd never done before. Let alone in bubble-wrap. He felt slightly empowered by it.

Kolovos and Diakos were both trying to scream at him but their mouths had also been bubble-wrapped, so all that came out were muffled groans.

"Shaddap!" Danny barked, whapping them each up the backside of the head. It kind of freaked him out to do it to Diakos, who was bald.

"Come on, we should get to Lindsay and Flack." Adam said as he was already stepping towards the door. Danny nodded and followed. The two walked briskly down a series of hallways that were so uniform-and looked-like-dead-ends-but-weren't you could swear they were all just made for fun. When they finally came to the large double doors they were looking for-there were tons of 'em in the place!-they saw Flack and Lindsay, who was holding a frying pan, standing above the unconscious Gillian and Jordan.

"What happened 'ere?" Danny asked, going straight to Lindsay's side in concern for her.

"Frying pans are great for more than just cooking." She said plainly, waving it in her hand proudly.

"I don't doubt that. So what are we gonna do now?" Adam asked.

"We have to get to Basil's Manor. Angell's there with Hawkes, Stella, Mac and Aiden, and I'm sure they need our help." Flack said seriously as they all headed towards the front doors. "To the Flackmobile!"

"Oh, God." Danny and Lindsay groaned.

"What? I've never been in the Flackmobile. Is it bad?" Adam asked with a skeptical frown.

"Adam, I hope you don't have poor bladder control."

"So Sid, is there a reason you're a frog?" Stella asked him with raised eyebrows, kneeling before him with a frown.

"Well, it has to do with an experiment-"

"Alright, forget I asked, I'm still afraid of your _creepy place_!" Stella stood and waved her hands in front of her face. "Have you guys seen Mac and Aiden?"

"I thought they were with you." Hawkes said with a frown, something clearly having changed for the worse.

"No, we split up, why?" Angell asked with the same frown.

"Oh, God. Sid and I have rigged a chemical explosion to go off in ten minutes."

"Well, it was mostly me, but-gak!"

"What?! You rigged a bomb to go off when Mac and Aiden could be anywhere in here?!!" Stella shouted angrily, shaking Sid so hard his limps and head flew everywhere. "What were you thinking?!!"

"Stella-a-ah-a-ah!" Sid choked as he tried to get his body straight again. It's not what you think!"

"If you blow up the man I'm in love with you are so gonna be frog legs on a plate, Sid Hammerback!"

"_Mac! This way!" _Aiden shouted, taking the lead.

"I'm not going to argue with you, Aiden." Mac huffs, getting a little out of breath.

"Taylor! I'm gonna kill you!" Drew shouted.

Mac and Aiden came to the end of the hallway which had three doors on each of the walls. One of them was open, and led to a strange laboratory kind of thing. A canister of some kind of gas sat in a mess of strings rigged to a lever. "What is it?"

"Taylor!"

Mac and Aiden both stepped to the side as Drew slipped past them and tripped one of the strings. They saw it release a nozzle witch started to hiss as the gas came out. A match was lit and started fall off its perch.

"Oh."

"Sid, what exactly did you do?" Stella asked darkly, looking at Sid with menacing eyes. He'd changed back into a lanky man with gray hair wearing a long navy blue cape over navy blue pants and a shirt. She'd tied him to a chair and was now holding a strange device he'd invented to open dead people for...inspection.

"I-I took a tank of hydrogen and rigged it to release the pressure and drop a match at the same time with trip strings." He admitted sheepishly.

"If anything happens to Mac, or Aiden, you will be one sad alchemist." Stella threatened. "Even if you are my dad."

"He's your what?" Hawkes frowned.

"Well, I was the father of Basil's manor, and Stella was our prized girl. I taught her just about everything she knows." Sid said proudly.

"No time." Hawkes snapped his fingers and suddenly they were outside with a confused Angell.

"Hey, there you are! I was down in the basement looking a picture of a girl who looked a lot like Stella holding hugging Kermit the Frog and then all of a sudden I'm out here."

"No! Mac and Aiden are still in there!" Stella struggled against Hawkes and Sid.

"What?!" Shouted Angell.

_Bang!_

Windows on the top level were blown out one by one as the glass came crashing down. The explosion was huge and blew out a good half of the entire manor. Large stones from the wall came down hard, burying everything.

"Mac!"


	16. Snow Day: The Safety

The Safety

"Mac!"

"Stella!" Angell ran and caught Stella by the arms before she could run back at the explosion.

"Angell, Mac and Aiden are still in there!" Stella cried again.

"I know! We don't need to lose you too!" She shouted back with her own tears threatening to fall.

"Mac!"

Then, almost in slow motion, Mac walked out of the-somehow still standing-front door, his hair wet and sticking to his forehead and with a gun in his right hand. His black shirt was slightly wet against his well muscled front and Aiden was coming right behind him.

"Mac!" Stella ran at him, in an equally dramatic slow motion way, and hugged with relief. "You want to tell me why the hell you'd worry me like that?"

"Sorry, Stell, I'll have to explain-" Mac looked up and saw, beyond Stella, a figure running up the path to him. His eyes widened and his face twisted to terrified horror. "Later."

"What?" Stella watched as, again, in a slow motion kind of way, Peyton ran up to hug Mac, who ran away at lightning speed in the other direction. "Where are you going?!"

"London!" He shouted, still running from Peyton.

Stella sighed and watched him run with a fond smile. She shook her head and stuck her foot out subtly, smiling wider when Peyton tripped over it and did a face-plant in the ground. "Oops. Sorry."

"You did that on purpose!" Peyton accused with her thick accent.

"Yeah, whatever you wanna think." Stella muttered as a response, looking at her fingernails.

"_Serves you right." _Aiden put in, though what really came out was a whinny, followed by a stomp.

"Peyton! Where's Mac?!" Quinn shouted, running up the path just as Peyton had. Angell was about to trip her when the Flackmobile flew up over the hill and landed dangerously close to Quinn. It landed with a harsh bang while Quinn fainted backward.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that." Flack said flatly and sarcastically, stepping out of the Flackmobile and over her body.

"I told you it was gonna be scary." Lindsay gulped as she stepped out of one side, Danny the other, and Adam falling out. "You okay?"

"F-f-fi-fine." He sputtered with a lisp. "E-every-o-one o-okay?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm okay." Danny said as he cracked his neck loudly. "Where is everyone?"

"Mac ran away to avoid Peyton, Stella is beating Sid and Hawkes up because they almost blew up Mac and Aiden and Flack almost ran over Quinn." Angell smiled at her non-magical friends. She nodded and went over to Flack, leaning in close. "I was worried about you."

"Oh, you were?" He asked coyly.

"Yeah, I was." She repeated quietly, leaning in to peck his lips. She touched them once and was about to pull away, but she wanted more, and it seemed he did as well. He pulled her closer by fisting some of her chocolate waves and moaned. Pulling away he smiled at her lovingly. "Marry me, Angell."

She ducked her head and let out a soft laugh. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay." She nodded, smiling brightly at him.

"Were you guys ever even officially dating?" Lindsay asked, suddenly popping out of nowhere.

"Nope!" They both replied giddily, still in each other's arms.

"Good to know!" She nodded, sliding away again. She made her way back to Danny and smiled lopsidedly at him. "This has been fun."

"You're tellin' me. We oughtta play match-maker more often, if this is the outcome." He said lazily as he looked at the ground. "I'm glad you're okay, Linds. You really had me worried 'ere, for a bit."

"My hero." Lindsay sauntered up to him and kissed his lips gently, a smile still on hers. "I 'aint goin' nowhere, Messer, so you better watch it. This Cowgirl don't take no funny bizness."

Danny, finding the Southern accent undeniably hot on her, simply smirked and adjusted his glasses. "Whoa, Bessie."

"Bessie?" Lindsay rolled her eyes but leaned her head on his shoulder comfortably. "That's a new one."

"Sid, I don't care! You almost blew up the man I love!" Stella shouted not even ten feet from the rest of them. "You may be the father and technically my father but if anything had happened to Mac I would have rolled your froggy little body over with a cement roller from Manhattan!!"

"Stell-a-I-was-just-try-ing-to-pro-tect-you!" Sid blurted when he could as Stella was shaking him by his long froggy neck. He'd changed back into a frog, hoping he could hop away from Stella, but he was only fooling himself. She'd quickly caught on and tackled him.

"Mac protects me just fine, Hammerback!"

"O-kay-I'll-back-off!"

"Yeah! You will!" Stella finished with a gentler tone and set Sid down. "Now turn back into a human so I can hug you and tell you with a straight face that I'm glad you're alright, and that I've missed you."

"Of coarse, dear." Sid turned back into his grey haired self and carefully wrapped his arms around Stella. "It's good to see you back around here, Cinderella."

"Thanks, Sid." She smiled and turned to Hawkes. "As for you; you just be glad I'm not choking you as well."

"Yes, ma'am." He laughed a little nervously.

"Now, I'm going to go after the man of my dreams, you gents wait here." She patted them each on the back and took off.

"_Stell, where ya headed?" _Asked Aiden.

"Get that bitch off my man." Stella replied to her horse simply, though she didn't stop to think how clear Aiden's words sounded. "Have you always had that accent?"

"_In my head, yeah." _She whinnied.

"Alrighty-then."

Well, it all turned out alright in the end.

Stella caught up to Peyton and cut her hair up to ears as a revenge, saying that her hair was gross anyway. She and Mac then made their way back to their friends so they could all go back to the palace. They drove back in the Flackmobile, putting Peyton and Quinn in the trunk while Angell, Hawkes, and Adam flew. Aiden was ridden by Danny and Lindsay, leaving Flack, Stella, Mac and Sid in the Flackmobile.

The next day, the binding of King Mac and Queen Stella was decreed and they'd made the palace into the new St. Basil's orphanage. The children were well looked after and, after Stella and Mac were married officially, they had a little Prince Michael running around. They were the best rulers Hattanshire had ever had, and the best looking.

Peyton, Quinn and their mother were banished for attempt at murder, and as soon as Stella was queen; treason. They eventually found themselves working for an old farmer in the next town over shoveling mesquite, so it kind of worked out for them. Stella even let them have Jordan to ride for when they were tired-though it was pointless because Jordan developed back problems and couldn't carry anything anyway.

Gillian, Jordan, a very battered Brendan, Drew, Kolovos and Diakos were all sent back to Manhattan and put in Jail. Flack and Angell visited them once, but only to show them their wedding rings and new badges for their promotional positions; Flack for Chief of Police for Manhattan, and Angell for Brass Wing, the oddly named position of Head Guardian Angel.

Adam was given the power to cure hangovers!! This was a very attractive quality, and he and Kendall started dating officially.

Sid and Hawkes both went to Manhattan to pursue their scientific and morbid ambitions. They both became official coroners for Flack's police department, and were paid so handsomely they both bought something completely extravagant! Sid bought himself some frog-sized winter gear, so he could be a frog even in the winter, and Hawkes bought himself a life-sized game of operation for a reason not even he could understand. It made funny noises, though, so he was happy.

Danny and Lindsay also got married and had a little girl named Lucy, who was Michael's best friend and the top horse rider in Hattanshire. By age eight.

The kingdom got along much better with Mac and Stella as the king and queen, and Stella finally got her happily ever after.

She never thought she would, but Mac was pretty damn great.

So, she got her happy ending, and a crown!

Life wasn't easy for Stella Bonasera.

It was no walk in the rose garen.

At least not until she found her prince, and became Queen Stella Taylor.

The End


End file.
